Second EAGE Workshop on Geothermal Energy in Latin America

In today’s world, energy and environmental crises have become serious global issues. On the one hand, the demand for and use of energy—primarily generated by high-carbon fuels—is dramatically escalating day by day in all sectors; on the other hand, environmental challenges and threats are simultaneously intensifying. A shift from carbon-based to carbon-free or low-carbon sources of energy (e.g., geothermal energy—alone or combined with other systems) is necessary, along with eco-friendly technologies and sustainable practices. Canada has committed to diminishing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As part of this commitment, the country aims to transition northern communities not linked to a regional electricity grid from diesel-based power and heat to cleaner energy sources. Geothermal energy is a potential option in northern communities. This study examines a techno-economic feasibility assessment of the use of a stand-alone geothermal system (a binary organic Rankine cycle) in the Aboriginal, remote, and off-grid diesel-based community of Fort Liard (FL), in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. The results illustrate that the geothermal plant alone can deliver stable baseload for the community’s annual energy demand for a 30-year lifetime period due to FL’s appropriate geological settings (overlying a hot sedimentary aquifer). In addition, the Cost of Energy (COE) for the stand-alone geothermal plant use is about 0.18 CAD$/kWh, much less than the COE (∼0.70 CAD$/kWh —no northern subsidy diesel) for the present diesel facility in FL. Furthermore, the geothermal option presents minimal environmental concerns.

The geothermal exploration and development in Costa Rica has continued its expansion, presenting an important impulse in developments for electricity generation, during the last 10 years.

The Dr. Alfredo Mainieri Protti Geothermal Field (formerly Miravalles, 154,5 MWe), since 1994 has maintained its production in stable conditions and with a projected useful life extension for the period 2030–2060, with a load adjustment. The unit 1 of Las Pailas Geothermal Field (42,5 MWe) completed 12 years of continuous production since 2011 and the second unit (55 MWe) started in July 2019 show very stable production during this commercial operation period. The Borinquen 1 development (55 MWe) continues the 17-well drilling program with very good results.

In 2022 ICE (Costarican Electricity Institute) concluded the Costa Rica geothermal potential update study. This study considered traditional geoscientific disciplines as well as remote sensing, geophysical and socio-environmental evaluations and the United Nations Framework Classification of Resources (UNFC). In order to attend the requirements of the electrical expansion plan until 2040, the portfolio of geothermal projects was updated, based on project proposals at different stages of maturity.