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Ormat shuts down plant in Guatemala after volcanic eruption

Ormat shuts down plant in Guatemala after volcanic eruption Volcano de Pacaya, Guatemala (source: flickr/ Nyall & Maryanne, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 2 Jun 2010

Ormat Technologies temporarily shuts down its Amatitlan geothermal power plant in Guatemala, after the Volcano de Pacaya erupted. The plant is on the north-western flank of the volcano.

Reported from the U.S., Ormat has shut down its Amatitlan geothermal power plant in Guatemala.The eruption did only minor damage to Ormat Technologies 20 MW plant, but it needed to be shut down temporarily.

According to the news piece, “The eruption of Volcano De Pacaya, about 30 kilometres south west of the capital, Guatemala City, has claimed three lives and damaged homes. Ormat, which began operations at its Amatitlan plant in 2007 on the volcano’s north-western flank, halted operations to protect the equipment.

The company reports no injuries to staff and “no substantial equipment damage” on preliminary inspection. “However, the plant will require a thorough clean up prior to restarting,” Ormat says in a statement. The company is still assessing how long it will take to restore the plant to a condition in which power generation can restart.”

Source: RECharge News