Costa Rica Country Update Report

Abstract

From the last country update report, which was presented during the 2000 Kyushu-Tohaku congress, the geothermal development and exploitation have fully continued at Miravalles the only costarican productive geothermal field. At the end of this period the installed power at Miravalles was the 8.4 % of the total electrical capacity of Costa Rica republic and the energy produced by Miravalles system, during the same year, represented about the 15.1 % of the total energy produced. When the fifth unit came on line at the end of 2003 the total installed capacity reached 162.5 Mw. In this field, additional studies carried out were successfully completed and a new productive area was discovered east of the zone under exploitation. During the quinquenniun covered by this report, the utilization of the small acid reservoir, located in the northeast sector of the field and used as a complementary source of steam, successfully continued as well as a second acid well which was added to the main steam production system. In the near future two more acid wells will be added to the steam production system.
The studies carried out at RincÛn de la Vieja were successfully completed when a productive high temperature reservoir was located at Las Pailas field, and a first 35 MW plant feasibility report was presented. Based on the national electrical development program, this unit will be online during 2010. Also at RincÛn de la Vieja volcano, in the area called Borinquen, the feasibility studies are being carried out. The drilling campaign allowed the localisation of a productive zone with the higher geothermal temperature found until now. The direct-use of the geothermal energy just began as a few swimming pools. No other direct-uses are reported.