Guatemala Geothermal ProspectsGeothermal Energy in Guatemala The Central American country of Guatemala sits along the Pacific Rim of Fire, the huge belt of volcanoes that rings the Pacific Ocean from southern Chile to Indonesia and the Philippines. Guatemala has several active volcanoes, indicative of extremely high heat flows in the earth's crust, making it an ideal place to look for new geothermal resources. Radius was recently granted one highly prospective geothermal license in Guatemala and has applications for 6 other potential geothermal fields pending covering a number of hot springs. The total area granted or under application is 200,700 hectares. When Radius first entered Guatemala in the early 2000's, its gold exploration programs were guided in part by using hot springs as an indicator of gold-related hydrothermal activity. On at least one occasion Radius' drill programs were halted because of large quantities of hot water and steam escaping from active drill holes, indicative of very high geothermal gradients. With the increasing global emphasis on clean, renewable power sources, Radius has revisited its hot spring data base for Guatemala and staked a number of active geothermal systems that may have potential as geothermal resources for power generation. Radius intends to use its extensive knowledge of Guatemalan geology, gained from more than 10 years of mineral exploration in the country, to identify and acquire potential geothermal resources. At the same time, the Company is actively looking for potential joint venture partners with the necessary experience to investigate and develop its geothermal licenses. Geothermal Energy Basics Producing geothermal power plants rely on either hot, fractured rocks at depth, or wells which produce large quantities of hot water and/or steam. The production of water and steam is the main source of thermal energy used in modern plants. There are many on-line resources which describe how these plants work, and a useful overview, titled "Geothermal 101: Basics of Geothermal Energy Production and Use", published by the Geothermal Energy Association, can be found here. Geothermal plants are considered environmentally benign because they are virtually emission free. Some types of geothermal plants do emit steam which may contain small amounts of hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide and other naturally occurring gases, but other plant designs, such as flash or binary plants are essentially closed systems; water coming from the heat exchangers or steam separators is re-injected into the ground. Power is most commonly generated by one of 3 methods:
Guatemala's Power Needs Power generation in Guatemala is currently comprised of hydroelectric power stations, steam turbines, gas turbines, diesel generators and geothermal power stations, with geothermal power contributing less than 3% of the total power generated. According to to a recent study by the Argentine consultancy Montamat, which evaluated electricity prices in 13 Latin American countries, prices in Guatemala are amongst the highest in Latin America at roughly $0.17/kwh, surpassed only by the Domincan Republic and Panama. At the same time, the Guatemalan government is forecasting that electric power demand growth is expected to reach over 8.0% compounded annual growth rate out to 2015. With current generating capacity, Guatemala must increase its installed capacity to meet the projected demand growth. A study published in International Goethermal Development in 2003 noted that geothermal resources in Guatemala are estimated at 800 to 4,000 megawatts (MW) capacity, but most likely around 1,000MW. In 2003 the country's installed generating capacity was 1,700MW suggesting that geothermal energy could contribute significantly to securing future power requirements in the Central American country. By 2007, Guatemala had succeeded in harnessing 46 MW of geothermal energy in the fields of Zunil and Amatitlán, both owned by the American geothermal technology company Ormat Technologies. Feasibility studies are being carried out on 3 other geothermal fields. Useful Links There are many useful websites offering information on geothermal energy. A good place to start is Wikipedia's overview of Geothermal Power which lists many other links to research. The Geothermal Energy Association is a US based organisation representing companies and individuals within geothermal energy industry. Check under the Resources menu on their website for some good overviews of geothermal basics. | |
