Papua New Guinea contracts Reykjavik Geothermal for geothermal master plan
Rabaul Caldera, Papua New Guinea (source: Reykjavik Geothermal)
Alexander Richter
1 Nov 2013
Reykjavik Geothermal signs contract with the government of Papua New Guinea on the development of a master plan for geothermal energy utilization and development.
Icelandic company Reykjavik Geothermal signed last week a consulting agreement with the government of Papua New Guinea.
The company will be working on a master plan for geothermal energy utilization in Papua New Guinea.
For the past three years, the company has researched the country and this experience will prove helpful in the work to be done now on behalf of the government, so David Stefansson, head of the consulting group of the company.
The Master Plan work will determine where and how geothermal energy can be utilized most efficiently. Papua New Guinea has a large geothermal potential and is rich in mineral resources. A large gold mine on Lihir Island, which belongs to Papua New Guinea, is actually utilizing geothermal for the power needs of the mine. There are many mining operations on the various islands of Papua New Guinea with a strong electricity demand.
Reykjavik Geothermal will work with the government on this extensive project and will also explore the possibility to get itself into development of individual projects.
There are other players that have been looking into Papua New Guinea, among the Australian KUTh Energy, which currently is in merger discussions with Geodynamics, also from Australia. KUTh Energy is working together with Kula Energy, as reported in December of last year.
Currently the country does not have geothermal legislation, which is seen as a big obstacle for development in the eyes of local politicians, as reported in May of 2013.
Papua New Guinea’s only geothermal power plant has an installed capacity of 56 MW, details can be found on ThinkGeoEnergy’s Global Geothermal Power Plant Map.
Source: Icelandic Morgunbladid (in Icelandic)
