U.S. Geothermal seeking funding for Guatemala project under GDF program

U.S. Geothermal submitted an expression of interest (EOI) for a drilling grant from the German Development Fund (GDF) on March 10. This grant would provide a 40% cost share for the drilling of up to three production size wells at El Ceibillo. U.S. Geothermal is awaiting the results of the EOI round, and if accepted, will submit a full application for the funds.

If GDF funding is used on the project, and a power plant is constructed, the grant becomes a low interest loan for the project. A well, or core hole may be drilled in 2017 to test the producing structure at the 2000 to 2600 foot (600 – 800 m) range so that we can gain additional information on the resource before the expected request for proposal is issued by the Guatemalan National Electrical Energy Commission (CNEE). The three CNEE commissioners responsible for the request for proposal (RFP) are on schedule to be replaced in May. Upon the replacement of the new commissioners, the company hopes to see rapid progress on the RFP.

The German Development Bank  (KfW) has previous experience in supporting Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility (GRMF) in East Africa. The German Development Bank announced the formation of Geothermal Development Facility (GDF) for Latin America in April 2016 to spur innovation and growth in the region. Please refer to this previous report from ThinkGeoEnergy for further information. Funding was sought for four projects in Guatemala under the GDF program. Two funding requests were for surface studies and two for exploration drilling. ThinkGeoEnergy presumes that U.S. Geothermal sought funding for exploration drilling.

Source: U.S. Geothermal Q1 Earnings Call May 11, 2017, Geothermal Development Facility for Latin America