24 October 2014: Countries developing geothermal projects, donor countries, project developers, financiers, multilateral development banks and other geothermal energy stakeholders have gathered for the First Geothermal Dialogue. Topics included exploration and financing as bottlenecks to geothermal development, and gaps in early stage risk capital and late-stage refinancing in domestic capital markets.

The event, held on 24 October 2014 in Copenhagen, Denmark, was organized by the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP). Under the theme of ‘Effective Financing of Geothermal Development – What Have We Learned?’, this Dialogue was the first of a series on geothermal financing.

The day included a session presenting a case study of the Gümüşköy Geothermal Power Plant Project in Turkey. Participants, however, noted the limited ability of case studies to provide models that could be replicated in different countries and situations. One of the reasons for concern, they said, was that development models carve out different public and private roles in different projects, thereby inhibiting the sector’s ability to scale-up finance flows.

Another session was dedicated to gathering perspectives from project developers and financiers. The session noted the need for technical know-how in developing countries, along with challenges in securing debt financing in the early stages, mitigating risk and attracting private sector investment. [CIF Summary] [CPI Summary]