The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will administer a US$2.7 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to finance studies to promote geothermal energy in Colombia, reforming the legal framework to remove barriers and promote this activity, as well as specific assessments of sites expected to host a 50MW geothermal power plant.
5 July 2011: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will administer a US$2.7 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to assist the Colombian Government in developing a regulatory framework to foster the use of non-conventional renewable energy, by establishing incentives and removing barriers to investments in geothermal power projects.
The project will also assess the technical, environmental and social data to establish the geothermal potential in the Macizo Volcanico del Ruiz, and complement a feasibility study already underway with support from a US$900,000 grant from the IDB-administered Japan Trust Fund for Consultancy Services. Based on the study findings, it is hoped that a 50-megawatt geothermal plant may be built on one of the sites. GEF resources will also be used to analyze a suitable financial structure for the construction of the power plant, which is expected to have a demonstrative effect of Colombia’s potential to develop alternative energy resources. [IDB Press Release]