Stimulating geothermal energy growth in Latin America

NDF participated in the official launch of the 2014 Geothermal Diploma Course on 6 June in El Salvador. The event is organised by the National Energy Council, University of El Salvador, and the geothermal company LAGEO. The event brought together national authorities, representatives of international development finance institutions, geothermal specialists, and the 26 students, who are from Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Peru.

The regional training facility is based at the University of El Salvador and financed by NDF and IDB. There is great interest in geothermal energy in many countries in Latin America but local technical capacity is weak. The regional training facility was set up to address this issue. It is estimated that Latin American has a 6.000 MW geothermal potential of which 43% is in Central America.

During the 5 months of training, the students will be trained in topics such as: Exploration geology, geochemistry and geophysics, drilling techniques for geothermal wells, geothermal plant planning, environmental and social management of geothermal projects. In addition, students will have field experience through visits and internships at different geothermal exploration sites in El Salvador.

Six of the students are female. The students come from national energy authorities, state corporations, private companies, and research institutions. The NDF support includes scholarships to cover costs for participation in the 5-month training course.

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