Geothermal energy can play a substantial role in meeting the energy needs of many Latin America and Caribbean Region (LAC) countries given the region’s vast potential.
... See More + The majority of geothermal resources in the LAC region remain largely untapped, not only in Central America and Mexico where development is more advanced, but also in the Caribbean and in South America. If further explored and developed in a sustainable fashion, these resources could meet a significant share of the base load power needs of the region, at a competitive cost, resulting in direct economic and environmental benefits. This report is envisioned to be a decision-makers’ guide for assessing key challenges and measures to facilitate expanding geothermal development in LAC. Based on discussions with LAC policymakers, utilities, and developers, several cross-cutting challenges affecting most countries in the region were identified, including: i) addressing geothermal resource risks; ii) mobilizing financing for geothermal development; iii) policy, legal, and regulatory reforms to improve the investment climate; and iv) environmental and social considerations. Based on the World Bank’s own extensive experience in the geothermal sector and drawing upon global and regional experience, this report then presents demonstrated solutions to addressing these key challenges. It showcases an array of measures from around the world that clients in LAC can customize for application in their own domestic markets.
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Geothermal heat is increasingly being used around the world to produce electricity in an environmentally friendly way. Current technology could potentially produce more than 70 GW of power, but only about 15 percent of that capacity is currently developed and operating.
... See More + Most of the high-temperature geothermal resources that are suitable for power generation are located in areas along the global Ring of Fire, a string of volcanoes and seismic areas that stretches 25,000 miles across the globe. It extends from the Indonesian archipelago through New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan; along the western coast of the Americas and the Caribbean; and through the Rift Valley in Africa, stretching toward Europe. Geothermal power can be very reliable. Because it is non-intermittent and has relatively low operational costs, it is an ideal option for generating base load power. Geothermal power can also serve as a hedge against the volatility of commodity prices, stabilizing systems costs and improving generation mixes. Geothermal produces a small fraction of the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels. When developed in line with industry standards, it can also provide significant local environmental benefits by offsetting generation options such as coal or diesel, which produce more pollution.
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Brief 113111 JAN 01, 2017
La Rocca,Roberto; Johansen,Peter; Berman,Laura Wendell; Jayawardena,MigaraDisclosed
This paper analyzes the impact of two hurricanes and a tropical storm that affected Belize in order to identify some key vulnerabilities in the power system to extreme weather, which is likely to be exacerbated due to climate change.
... See More + By addressing these weaknesses, Belize can significantly enhance its energy resilience and adaptive capacity. The authors carried out the analyses and wrote the paper during the preparation of the Energy Resilience for Climate Adaptation Project (ERCAP), which is an initiative by the Government of Belize (GoB) that is being supported by the World Bank with funding from the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The ERCAP is designed to assist the GoB undertake demonstrative measures and targeted pilot investments that would enhance energy resilience in the country, and could subsequently be mainstreamed and scaled-up for greater impact.
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Based on the World Bank’s own extensive global experience and drawing upon international expertise from leading specialists and practitioners, this report presents a comparative assessment of various approaches that have been applied around the world, with varying degrees of success, to mitigate resource risks and catalyze investments in developing the geothermal sector.
... See More + It provides a framework that can help decision makers identify suitable approaches that are commensurate with development goals, funding capacity, implementation capabilities, and other circumstances specific to the context in a given country. Geothermal presents an opportunity for many countries to diversify their power generation mix in a sustainable way since it is an environmentally friendly, clean energy source that can reliably produce baseload power on a 24 by 7 basis. Despite over 100 years of development and an estimated global potential of 70 - 80 gigawatts (GW), only about 15 percent of the known geothermal reserves are presently exploited and producing electricity. While there are many reasons, in various countries, for the slow pace of geothermal development, one widely recognized and unique obstacle that is applicable worldwide is the high resource risk during the early stages of the geothermal development process. As a result, it is difficult to mobilize the early-stage investments, especially through the private sector.
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Based on the World Bank’s own extensive global experience and drawing upon international expertise from leading specialists and practitioners, this report presents a comparative assessment of various approaches that have been applied around the world, with varying degrees of success, to mitigate resource risks and catalyze investments in developing the geothermal sector.
... See More + It provides a framework that can help decision makers identify suitable approaches that are commensurate with development goals, funding capacity, implementation capabilities, and other circumstances specific to the context in a given country. Geothermal presents an opportunity for many countries to diversify their power generation mix in a sustainable way since it is an environmentally friendly, clean energy source that can reliably produce baseload power on a 24 by 7 basis. Despite over 100 years of development and an estimated global potential of 70 - 80 gigawatts (GW), only about 15 percent of the known geothermal reserves are presently exploited and producing electricity. While there are many reasons, in various countries, for the slow pace of geothermal development, one widely recognized and unique obstacle that is applicable worldwide is the high resource risk during the early stages of the geothermal development process. As a result, it is difficult to mobilize the early-stage investments, especially through the private sector.
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In this paper on the summary of notes and indications of policies for improving competitiveness in the Caribbean the authors believe that after years of low growth, high unemployment and indebtedness, increasing vulnerability to external shocks and increased rates of poverty and inequality, many countries in the Caribbean region and its development partners have undertaken a significant effort to rethink their approach to growth.
... See More + This powerful collective effort around economic reform and growth focused in its first phase, catalytic short- and medium-term on three main areas: logistics and connectivity, and investment climate; skills and productivity. The synthesis of memo notes and indications of policies contained in this publication are based on conversations and technical inputs developed since the launch of the Forum to propose a guide change in the Caribbean region. The knowledge and analysis included in this volume, focusing on challenges and solutions identified locally will be the basis of the second phase of the Forum for Growth in the Caribbean, which will focus on commissioning up of the reforms identified so far.
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Working Paper 92688 JUN 01, 2014
Gallina, Andrea; De Leon, Diana M.; Giannozizi, Sara; Bofinger, Heinrich C.; Placci, Florencia Millan; Garmendia, Celilia Briceno; Palsson, Gylfi; Ossio, Jose Eduardo Gutierrez; Alessandro, Martin; Neyra, Juan Jose; Gallegos, Doyle; Gabarro, Pau Puig; Reaza, Javier Sanchez; Carletto, Andre; Arias, Diego; Garcia, Rigoberto Ariel Yepez; Jayawardena, Migara; Berman, Laura; Sinha, Chandra Shekhar; Huttrer, Gerry; Bayarsaikhan, Mandkhai; Karmali, Nadeem; Bes, Martin; Alvarez-Estrada, Daniel; Guasch, Jose Luis; Parra-Torrado, Monica; Nannyonjo, Harriet; Matthews, Clark; Chao, ShiyanDisclosed
This paper presents a statistical study of the geothermal resource risk in Indonesia, specifically, that the resource base and well productivity are adequate and that the drilling cost per well is reasonable.
... See More + This paper is timely because the Government of Indonesia is now embarking on an ambitious plan to rapidly scale up geothermal power capacity and eventually achieve a longer-term target of 9,500 MW by 2025. This study relies on the resource base estimates made by the Indonesian Government-owned enterprise P.T. Pertamina (now subsidiary Pertamina Geothermal Energy, or PGE) for nearly 80 sites, and productivity data on 215 wells in the country in the GeothermEx archives; these wells comprise some 80 percent of the total production wells drilled in Indonesia. Such a thorough national inventory of the geothermal resource base is available from very few countries. The geothermal resource base (proved-plus-probable-plus-possible) at a given site ranges from 10 MW to 800 MW with a log-normal distribution. More than 70 percent of the known Indonesian fields have a resource base greater than 50 MW and at least half of the fields (about 40) offer a resource base of 100 MW or more.
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Working Paper 89411 JUN 01, 2014
Sanyal, Subir K. ; Morrow, James W. ; Jayawardena, Migara S. ; Berrah, Noureddine ; Fei Li, ShawnaDisclosed
The power sector is integral to economic development and inclusive growth in the Caribbean region. The high cost of electricity is undermining the regions competitiveness and growth; and creating hardship for citizens.
... See More + The high cost of electricity is largely a result of the region's heavy reliance on expensive, imported fuel oil and diesel for power generation. It will be important to diversify the generation mix of power systems in the Caribbean and enhance energy efficiency in order to lower costs and increase reliability as a means towards improving business competitiveness and promoting shared economic growth. Preliminary assessments indicate significant unexploited geothermal potential, especially in the Eastern Caribbean that can supply base-load power for local markets and beyond. Geothermal resource risks are a major barrier during the early phases of development as it creates uncertainty surrounding the viability of the investment. Attracting credible and experienced developers is essential for developing the resources in line with proven industry practices, and in compliance with international standards. Following successful geothermal resource confirmation, there will be continued need to mobilize greater levels of financing to complete the remaining development. Special consideration is needed for integrating geothermal power into relatively small and isolated island systems in the Eastern Caribbean. Inter-island transmission interconnections provide an opportunity to exploit the Eastern Caribbean's full geothermal potential; and promote regional integration. Geothermal developments largely beneficial for the environment and local communities and following industry practices and international standards will adequately address its potential impacts. It will be important for each jurisdiction to mandate its own environmental and social standards based on international best practices; and monitor to ensure compliance with those standards by project developers.
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The program provided a vast, dispersed community of over half a million nomadic herders with access to modern forms of electricity through portable Solar Home Systems (SHS).
... See More + Mongolia is a geographically vast country covering over 600,000 square miles but has a relatively small population of less than three million people. This nomadic lifestyle is a legacy of thousands of years of traditional culture and is dependent upon a harmonious co-existence with nature. The program provided photovoltaic SHS that were portable in design making the systems adaptable to the nomadic lifestyle of herders and complementing their traditional way of life. Specifically, the Rural Electricity Access Project (REAP) included a cost sharing mechanism with the herders that expanded the program for maximum impact. Under this arrangement, the herders had to purchase the SHSs, but given their limited income, the project provided a subsidy to cover roughly half of the cost of the systems, making them more affordable.
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Working Paper 72683 DEC 01, 2012
Jayawardena, Migara S.; Rivera, A. Salvador; Ratnayake, ChrisanthaDisclosed
Indonesia's commitment to reform is continuing to accelerate economic growth, yet a staggering one third of its people live without access to electricity.
... See More + It is difficult to imagine sustaining the current 6 percent economic growth rate if such large numbers of people are left behind and cannot enjoy the fruits of this prosperity. The Indonesian Government has recognized this problem and aims to provide electricity access to 90 percent of the population by 2020, a worthy goal which the World Bank strongly supports. At the request of the Government, this report, electricity for all: options for increasing access in Indonesia, was developed to provide some practical solutions by which Indonesia could reach their highly ambitious, yet achievable goal. The following report was developed to initiate a dialogue to further the discussion on increasing electricity access in Indonesia. It identifies the critical barriers that currently prevent electrification expansion at levels necessary to meet the Government's objective and articulates why business as usual will not suffice. Thereafter, the report proposes a number of policy improvements that will enhance the current enabling framework for electrification. At the heart of this report are several proposals for enhanced electrification models that can be implemented even under the present policy framework, although chances of success will be far greater should the recommended reforms occur. These electrification models bring to bear the best international experiences, yet are customized for application in the Indonesian context. Each option illustrates in detail the financing options, cost recovery aspects, and the institutional mechanisms that are necessary for implementation. They are also designed to take advantage of the recent decentralized governance structure in Indonesia, where sub-national governments are increasingly taking greater responsibility for providing services, including electricity, for their people.
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Indonesia's commitment to reform is continuing to accelerate economic growth, yet a staggering one third of its people live without access to electricity.
... See More + It is difficult to imagine sustaining the current six percent economic growth rate if such large numbers of people are left behind and cannot enjoy the fruits of this prosperity. The report was developed to initiate a dialogue to further the discussion on increasing electricity access in Indonesia. It identifies the critical barriers that currently prevent electrification expansion at levels necessary to meet the government's objective and articulates why business as usual will not suffice. Thereafter, the report proposes a number of policy improvements that would enhance the current enabling framework for electrification. At the heart of this report are several proposals for enhanced electrification models that can be implemented even under the present policy framework, although chances of success would be far greater should the recommended reforms occur. These electrification models bring to bear the best international experiences, yet are customized for application in the Indonesian context. Each option illustrates in detail the financing options, cost recovery aspects, and the institutional mechanisms that are necessary for implementation. They are also designed to take advantage of the recent decentralized governance structure in Indonesia, where sub-national governments are increasingly taking greater responsibility for providing services, including electricity, for their people.
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Indonesia's commitment to reform is continuing to accelerate economic growth, yet a staggering one third of its people live without access to electricity.
... See More + It is difficult to imagine sustaining the current six percent economic growth rate if such large numbers of people are left behind and cannot enjoy the fruits of this prosperity. The report was developed to initiate a dialogue to further the discussion on increasing electricity access in Indonesia. It identifies the critical barriers that currently prevent electrification expansion at levels necessary to meet the government's objective and articulates why business as usual will not suffice. Thereafter, the report proposes a number of policy improvements that would enhance the current enabling framework for electrification. At the heart of this report are several proposals for enhanced electrification models that can be implemented even under the present policy framework, although chances of success would be far greater should the recommended reforms occur. These electrification models bring to bear the best international experiences, yet are customized for application in the Indonesian context. Each option illustrates in detail the financing options, cost recovery aspects, and the institutional mechanisms that are necessary for implementation. They are also designed to take advantage of the recent decentralized governance structure in Indonesia, where sub-national governments are increasingly taking greater responsibility for providing services, including electricity, for their people.
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