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55 MW Las Pailas II geothermal power plant officially inaugurated in Costa Rica

55 MW Las Pailas II geothermal power plant officially inaugurated in Costa Rica Las Pailas II geothermal power plant, Costa Rica (source: Grupo ICE)
Alexander Richter 24 Jul 2019

Grupo ICE has officially inaugurated its 55 MW Las Pailas II geothermal power plant near Rincon de la Vieja, bringing the country's total installed geothermal power generation capacity to 262 MW.

With months of delay and an increase of $ 41 million in the original cost, Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) has officially inaugurated the 55 MW Las Pailas II geothermal plant in Curubandé de Liberia, on July 23, 2019.

The plant, the seventh work of local geothermal generation was initially planned to start operating in January 2019, as announced in the Generation Expansion Plan (PEG) 2016-2035 published in May 2017. According to that ICE road map in investments, the plant had a cost of $ 325 millions.

The Institute indicated a cost increase to $ 366 million back in May of this year. The document indicates that it has injected energy into the National Electric System since March of this year. The delivery was made in the presence of President Carlos Alvarado; The First Lady Claudia Doubles; the Minister of Environment and Energy, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, and the Executive President of the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE), Irene Cañas.

The 55 MW geothermal power generation project is located southwest of the Rincon de la Vieja volcano and completes the exploitation of geothermal field
Pailas, also integrated by the 35 MW Pailas I plant; in operation since the year 2011. Pailas II began construction in April 2013.

The Institute projects an average annual generation of 410 GWh that will derive steam from its 21-well sgeothermal field at an average depth of 2,200
meters. The work includes a pipeline of almost 14 kilometers, home of machines, cooling tower and substation, among other equipment.

The work was financed with contributions from the Japan Government Cooperation Agency (JICA), European Investment Bank (EIB) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Pailas II joined Miravalles I, Miravalles II, Miravalles III, Miravalles V and Boca de Pozo –Located in the Alfredo Mainieri Protti Field, in Bagaces–, in addition to its predecessor Las Pailas I, in Liberia. With these plants, the country totals 262 MW of installed geothermal capacity, the third largest in the Americas.

Source: La Nación