| Title | Guidelines for the Preparation of Geothermal Feasbility Studies |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ari INGIMUNDARSON, Gudni AXELSSON, Benedikt STEINGRIMSSON, Ingi INGASON, Olafur ARNASON, Thrainn FRIDRIKSSON, Mariano Gonzales SERRANO |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | feasbility, feasbility studies, financing, geothermal project risk |
| Abstract | The paper presents guidelines for the preparation of geothermal feasbility studies. A geothermal feasibility study report is a document that collects and presents information necessary to determine the technical and financial viability and level of risk of a geothermal energy project and its compliance with environmental and social safeguards . The feasibility study report is created by the entity developing the geothermal project or the project developer. Typically, the developer is a public utility or, an independent power producer (IPP) or an investor- owned utility. A combination of the previous categories can also partner to develop a project under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) or a joint venture (JV). The objective of the guidelines is twofold. Firstly, it is to assist developers in the preparation of geothermal feasibility studies by giving a description of the required content. Secondly, the objective is to present to financing entities guidelines to assess if a feasibility study report is of adequate quality. The feasbility study is used by financing entities to assess the risks associated with the project. Risks and risk categories in geothermal projects are presented and the main handling approaches discussed. A content list of a typical feasbility study was created based on reccomended contents for other energy projects. However, several aspects of geothermal projects set them apart from other power generation projects. In particular the risk profile differs primarily due to the presence of the geological resource risk. The content list includes items: Project concept and background; Market concept and analysis; Geothermal resource assessment; Location and site; Environment and social safeguards; Engineering and technology; Project execution plan and schedule; Financial analysis and investment appraisal. Each item of the list above is treated and the required content in a feasibility study report explained. |