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JICA to support multinational geothermal program in Latin America

JICA to support multinational geothermal program in Latin America Screenshot from JICA Website
Francisco Rojas 8 Dec 2014

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will assist Germany and the EU in the development of a geothermal project aiming at curbing carbon emissions in Latin America.

Local news detail that JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency) will support German and EU efforts to develop a geothermal project in Latin America.

According to the Nikkei Asian Review “Twelve development and financial institutions are participating in the organization, including the Japanese agency, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The agency and the other financial institutions will work to improve policy frameworks necessary for promoting development in such countries as Costa Rica, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. They will also cultivate human resources and provide technology related to operating and maintaining geothermal facilities. The project is intended to help stop global warming by introducing geothermal power as a base-load power source in Latin America, where power demand is rising accompanying economic growth and is projected to double by 2030. It will involve more than $1 billion in funding and include tests at seven candidate sites in five countries, including Bolivia and Chile, with the aim of developing geothermal power plants offering a combined generating capacity of 350,000kW”

It seems though that the support by JICA is aimed at securing the position of Japanese companies, like Mitsubishi Hitachi, Toshiba and Fuji Electric in business development in the region. These three companies stand for more than 80% of the market for geothermal turbines.

Source: Nikkei Asian Review