Wellhead Power Plants, an Option to Enhance the “Macizo Volcánico del Ruiz” Geothermal Project

Abstract

Geothermal projects for electricity production with a central plant present great challenges. Among them are the risks of the exploratory stage, high initial investment, and the lengthy time between exploration and revenue generation. Countries like Colombia, that want to venture into geothermal development, see first-hand how it is even more difficult when it is the first time developing this type of project. As a way to work around these challenges, there are many cases where the use of modular wellhead plants improved the outlook for investment and development of geothermal projects. Installing wellhead plants can accelerate the production of electricity, amortizing the total costs of the project from the start of operation of the first producing well. This document shows the geothermal potential of the “Macizo Volcánico del Ruiz” in Colombia and a little analysis of the use of modular plants to enhance the geothermal project.