Utility Scale Renewable Energy Program to help geothermal
Turkey, Chile, Mexico and Indonesia to be the major benefits of new $115 Utility Scale Renewable Energy Program set up by the World Bank boosting its own Global Geothermal Development Plan.
International support for geothermal energy in developing countries took a leap forward on October 28, 2013 when the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), a program of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), approved $115 million for the Utility Scale Renewable Energy Program. This program will initially focus on facilitating private sector engagement in geothermal resource validation through test drilling – the first, and riskiest, step in geothermal energy development.
The proposal for the program was developed by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)—all implementing partners of the $7.6 billion CIF, catalyzing clean technology and climate resilience investments in 48 developing and middle income countries worldwide.
The program gives a boost to the Global Geothermal Development Plan (GGDPP), which was announced in March by World Bank Managing Director Sri Mulyani Indrawati in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The $115 million program will initially support projects in four pilot CTF countries with high geothermal potential: Turkey, Chile, Mexico, and Indonesia. The program is open for additional pledges from donors in the coming months to expand coverage to other countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya.
Source: World Bank