Financial Feasibility Assessment of a Wellhead Geothermal Power Plant at Nevado del Ruiz Volcano in Colombia

Abstract

Colombia is close to the initial development of a geothermal project at Nevado del Ruiz volcano. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the technology of a geothermal power plant that can be installed at this area in order to take advantage, in the short term, of the resource to be extracted. Traditionally in geothermal projects, wellhead power plants with backpressure turbine are the most used for initial stage of exploitation and monitoring the geothermal resource. However, currently there are also wellhead power plants with condensing turbine even below 10 MW, which can be more technically efficient and with better investment returns. The selection of a geothermal power plant will depend mainly on the volume of the geothermal resource, and thermodynamic and physicochemical characteristics of the geothermal fluid. Likewise, it is necessary to evaluate the financial feasibility for a geothermal power plant startup calculating financial parameters such as the net present value (NPV) and the internal rate of return (IRR). This evaluation should take into account the net power production that could be achieved, the domestic financial market where the power plant will be installed and its influence on the investment and operation costs. In addition, the performance of a sensitivity analysis of financial parameters must be complemented with different scenarios that imply some risk in the viability of the project. On this way, the financial feasibility assessment of a wellhead power plant of 5MW net power with condensing turbine is being carried out for the geothermal project at Nevado del Ruiz volcano under some technical assumptions, due to there are still no wells drilled to validate them. This analysis is based on the domestic financial market conditions, and the legal and regulatory framework of Colombia.