The San-Jacinto-Tizate Geothermal Power Plant in Nicaragua
Aerial view of the San Jacinto geothermal plant, Nicaragua (screenshot Google/ Maps)
Alexander Richter
31 Mar 2020
Operating since 2013, the San Jacinto-Tizate geothermal power plant in Nicaragua is one of the key geothermal power plants in Central America and contributes to renewable power generation in the country.
Earlier this month, Canadian Polaris Infrastructure Inc. reported on its annual results. In it the company reports record power production from its geothermal power plant in Nicaragua and increase in revenues and EBITDA.
Today, the company owns three power generation assets, the 72 MW San-Jacinto Tizate geothermal power plant in Nicaragua and two hydropower plants of 28 MW and 5 MW in Peru.
As part on its reporting the company provided a great overview on its geothermal power plant in Nicaragua.
The San-Jacinto-Tizate geothermal power plant has an installed power generation capacity of 72 MW with a production of between 65 and 70 MW, which translate to a capacity factor of around 95%. The plant is located in the northwestern part of Nicaragua in the shire of San Jacinto, municipality of Telica, 20km from the city of Leon.
The plant has been operating since 2013 with a fixed-price PPA to 2029, which is US$ nominated. The plant is operated by Polaris Energy Nicaragua S.A., a local subsidiary of Polaris Infrastructure.
The plant produces around 255,000 tons of CO2 credits per year. The turbines have a combined generation capacity of 72 MW and have both been online since 2013.
The PPA is denominated in US$ for up to 72MW net, to 2029, at a price of US$129/MWh in 2019 with 3% per annum price escalator for 5 years; 1.5% per annum thereafter (to 2029).
The plant has 13 production wells with productive capacity of approximately: 500-525 tph of steam and 1,800-2,000 tph of hot brine.
7 Injection wells re-inject the hot brine into the reservoir to create a “closed loop” – renewable energy in literal sense.
Current steam can result in power capacity of approx. 68-72 MW.
Source: Polaris annual report, Corporate Presentation March 2020
