Geothermal Capacity Building in Nicaragua

Abstract

The Icelandic International Development Agency, ICEIDA, is currently implementing a five year capacity building project for the geothermal sector in Nicaragua. Iceland GeoSurvey is the main consultant for the project. Nicaragua has a considerable geothermal potential of which only a small fraction has been utilized. Nicaragua is heavily dependent on imported fossil fuel for power production and further utilization of the countries indigenous energy sources is a priority of the government. The aim of ICEIDA’s geothermal project is facilitate the utilization of the local geothermal resources by increasing technical capacity within the public sector. This is important because the government has a critical role in granting exploration and production permits and supervising and monitoring utilization and limited capacity of the involved government institutions will slow down the geothermal development in the country.
The capacity building project rests upon three main pillars; direct technical assistance, education and training, and infrastructure and equipment support. The technical assistance involves expert consultation on specific topics. Education and training involves long term training at the UNU-GTP in Iceland and a variety on shorter courses. The infrastructure and equipment support is mainly directed at equipping the Geothermal Unit at the Ministry of Energy and Mines of which the most significant part is the installation of a new chemical laboratory.