A result of the World Bank-initiated Global Geothermal Development Plan, the investment in exploration is helping grow the global geothermal industry. About 15 percent of capital expenditures for geothermal projects
must be invested in exploration in order for the projects to move
forward, Audinet said, adding that from 1977 to 2012, about 94 percent
of the $3 billion invested in geothermal development by multinational
banks was dedicated to above-ground infrastructure.
World Bank in 2013 formed the Global Geothermal Development Plan to
raise money that could be allocated to financing exploration in
countries where equity is hard to find, Audinet said. To date, the plan
has raised $250 million.
Audinet said that a portion of the $250 million is held by the Climate Investment Funds,
and ESMAP uses a portion to finance identification and preparation of
projects as well as other forms of technical assistance required to
structure geothermal advancements in countries. The funding now supports programs in seven countries, and Audinet
said conversations are ongoing with Dominica, Ethiopia and Fiji that
could lead to additional investments. “Over the last 12 months, we have slowed down on the fundraising, but
we will have to start fundraising again in the next few months,” he
said.
Programs Update
Geothermal energy programs initiated by the Global Geothermal
Development Fund currently are underway in Armenia, Chile, Djibouti,
Indonesia, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia and Turkey. The $10.7 million Armenia Geothermal Exploratory Drilling program is a
public support project at the Karkar site in the Sjunik region for
drilling “to validate the resource before it is in turn tendered to the
private sector,” Audinet said. Preparation of access roads and the drill
site are underway, he added.
With a $53 million investment, the Chile Technical Assistance for
Geothermal Development program seeks to enhance geothermal market
conditions and provide risk sharing for resource development. In
addition, the program is working to improve policy frameworks and
strengthen management capabilities for mobilizing investments in
geothermal energy, according to Audinet.
Chile is a “complex country,” he said. “The government’s hands are
tied there. They really want to find a way to unlock exploration and
stimulate it much more than is the case currently.” The program recently released a call for expressions of interest from technical consultants. In Djibouti, the $31.2 million Geothermal Power Generation program is supporting exploration drilling for four wells at Lake Assal.
“It took some time to get this project started, but it now is moving much faster,” Audinet said. The program has contracted a project director and geothermal
consulting company, and is now working to contract a drilling services
company. Currently in the design phase, the Indonesia Geothermal Energy
Upstream Development program will invest $106 million in its first phase
as a risk sharing tool for resource confirmation at five sites in
Indonesia.
The program “is focused on trying to unlock money that the government
of Indonesia has allocated to exploration,” Audinet said. “We are in
the final stage of designing a scheme that will help move some of that
money through a development bank in Indonesia.”
Implementation of the program is expected to start next year.
The $115 million Nicaragua Geothermal Resource Risk Mitigation
program will leverage private risk capital for exploration drilling and
resource confirmation at Casita-San Cristobal. Audinet said the program
is “under preparation” and should begin in 2017.
With an investment of $3.4 million, the Saint Lucia Geothermal
Resource Development program is providing upstream geothermal
development preparation and project management in Soufriere, as well as
transaction and regulatory support to the Ministry of Sustainable
Development, Energy, Science and Technology. According to Audinet, the
program has awarded a LiDAR survey contract and is currently working to
secure a contract for a technical coordinator.
The Turkey Geothermal Development Project is a two-part program, with
a portion of the $375 million funding package allocated for a loan
facility for resource development, including credit lines for two local
banks to finance capacity drilling and power plant construction. The
remaining portion of the funding will provide a risk sharing mechanism
for resource confirmation. “This project is in the final stages of design with the government of
Turkey,” Audinet said, adding that implementation is expected to begin
in the first half of 2016.
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/articles/2015/09/multinational-bank-financing-of-geothermal-exploration-up-11-percent-from-2012.html
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