Colombia completes the exploratory phase for Ecopetrol's geothermal project

The Colombian environment ministry announced a decision on Wednesday to approve the environmental viability of an exploratory phase for the Nereidas geothermal project. This project is led by the state oil company Ecopetrol and the utility CHEC.

This is Colombia's?first large-scale geothermal initiative.

The Ministry said that it had granted a partial and conditional carving-out of a protected forest area outside national park, limited to exploration work, and subject to environmental safeguards, ecological restore and water-management requirements.

In Colombia, where hydropower accounted for roughly two thirds to seventy percent of the electricity generated in recent years (depending on the region), geothermal energy could provide a source of low-emissions baseload electricity, which is less susceptible to fluctuations in rainfall.

Ecopetrol, along with its partners, announced that the alliance would be formed in 2023. They said Nereidas will eventually produce between 50 and 100 megawatts of renewable energy. This is enough to power more than 250,000 households.

The Environment Ministry also announced that it has issued "new environmental terms and conditions" for geothermal exploration projects and exploitation, which set out technical, social and environmental requirements for the industry. Draft updates to these rules were published earlier this year for consultation. Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra, Editing by Brendan O'Boyle

(source: Reuters)