 The first call for Geothermal Development Facility (GDF) for Latin America has come to a close with an announcement of the grant awards for this unique Grant Facility established to be a catalyst to geothermal power development in Latin America. The GDF is pleased to announce 8 winners spanning across Central and South America. As a result of this initiative, surface studies in amounts up to €600,000 each will be funded in Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Guatemala while Exploratory Drilling will be funded up to €5.8 million each in Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras.
These 8 projects were chosen from a pool of 25 applicants as projects with the highest viability for geothermal energy plant production, which will not only benefit the local economy in creating jobs, but also will benefit the environment in decreasing carbon dioxide and other harmful emissions. These 25 parties were evaluated in a two-step process in order to determine which projects would receive the grants. After an extensive financial and technical review was completed, 8 projects were chosen and are now in the process of executing the grant agreements. In addition to evaluating the company submissions, GDF has organized and participated in several conferences, including a Technical Assistance Forum in conjunction with the GEOLAC 2017 conference in Mexico City and the Geothermal Resources Council 2017 in Utah.
The awards approved total approximately €22 million from GDF, which is expected to be a catalyst to up to €1.6 billion in future investments in the region generating at least 285 MW of energy production. This is a significant step in reaching GDF’s original goal of 350 MW anticipated over a 10-year span. Based on its initial such success, GDF will start a 2nd round for surface studies and drilling grants starting December 1st, 2017. GDF anticipates similar results with a number of high-quality applications already indicating early interest. It should be noted that based on the 1st and expected 2nd round results, GDF is seeking additional funding beyond the current €55 million closed last year. For more information, info@gdflac.com Contact: Alan Beard, 703-752-5880 ext. 115 About IDA Fund Management GDF is managed by IDA Fund Management a consortium lead by Interlink Capital Strategies (www.interlinkdc.com), a Washington, DC-based management consulting firm and financial advisor well known in the Export Credit Agency (ECA) and Development Finance Institution (DFI) space and initially funded by the German government through KfW [Kreditandstalt für Wiederaufbau] Development Bank and the European Union (EU). Comments are closed.
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