21 November 2011: The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), hosted a six-day comprehensive training course on geothermal energy for government officials from six Latin American nations from 7-12 November 2011 in Santa Tecla, El Salvador.

Held at the LaGeo geothermal facilities in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, the course was organized by the Organization of American States’ (OAS) Department of Sustainable Development in its role as ECPA Secretariat, with funding provided by the US Department of State. The course trained officials on geothermal energy exploration, aiming at technical skill improvement, and provided them with tools to aid development of legal and regulatory frameworks regarding the deployment of geothermal energy in their countries. Topics covered included: global and regional perspectives and trends in geothermal energy; geothermal project planning; geoscientific exploration and drilling; power generation and direct use of geothermal energy; environmental impact of geothermal activity; and geothermal law and regulatory frameworks. It also included a field visit to a Salvadorean geothermal power plant.

The course was developed by geothermal experts from Iceland as part of the United Nations University Geothermal Training Program (UNU-GTP). Although billed as a course to help the Andean Community countries of Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, officials from Chile, Costa Rica and El Salvador also attended. [ECPA Press Release] [UNU-GTP Press Release]