As expected, the French Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Italian company, in its attempt to increase its stake in the geothermal station LaGeo.
In May 2011 the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) recognized the right of Enel Green Power to increase their investments in geothermal energy in El Salvador and capitalize on these investments through the subscription of new shares in LaGeo.
An announcement has been made that the commission studying the country's energy mix will have a proposal ready in April 2015, but the rate will remain "stable" until at least the first quarter of 2016.
Although the government anticipates that by April 2015 they will have a proposal on the subject, the Minister of Environment and Energy, Edgar Gutierrez, said "...
Employers claim that the country has the potential to exploit this energy, but the processes for obtaining environmental permits is being held up, in some cases by up to three years.
At the moment, geothermal energy makes up 25% of the country's energy mix, but experts in the field say the exploitation potential is even greater. However, the cumbersome and lengthy procedures to be followed to obtain operating permits is discouraging private investment.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines is planning a tender for geothermal power generation to complement the renewable energy tenders that have already been announced.
Minister Erick Archila told S21.com.gt that "... we are at the stage of planning and development ... 'For the first time we have projects using other technologies such as solar and wind, which could start in early 2015; this fourth tender will be a complement.'"
The state run power company has begun development of a management plan and the drilling of wells in the Pailas II project, the first of three plants to be developed in the northern part of the country.
With funding from the Japanese government and approved by the Legislative Assembly the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) will start to build three geothermal projects; Pailas II, Borinquen I and II in the province of Guanacaste.
A leading figure in the ruling party has introduced a bill that would allow state electricity company to produce geothermal energy in national parks or protected areas.
According to the deputy Otton Solis, member of the Citizen Action Party and sponsor of the bill, "... in the national parks there is a potential of about 350 megawatts of geothermal energy that can be harnessed, under highly rigorous environmental requirements."
The construction of the Borinquen 55MW geothermal plant will not begin until 2018 because the state run electricity company in Costa Rica only has three drilling rigs.
An article on Nacion.com includes a video which reports that the Borinquen project will not start until 2018 because the drills owned by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) are being used for other projects.
Like the entire private sector, the Association of Free Zones of Costa Rica is complaining about the high cost of electricity and lack of concrete actions to resolve the situation.
Before considering Petrocaribe, companies operating under this regime in Costa Rica are suggesting a further diversification of the energy matrix in order to lower costs.
The loan approved by the World Bank will add to the $50 million already authorized by the entity for 2015 and will be used to finance geothermal exploration projects.
The Minister of Finance, Ivan Acosta announced that this additional loan was approved because of the the satisfactory manner in which the country has implemented the funds granted by the bank.
With the approval of the international loan the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will be able to access funds to build three plants of 55 MW each.
The approval given by the Legislature in a second debate for a $619 million loan is part of the "Cooperation Agreement for a sector loan for the development of geothermal energy in Guanacaste", "...
In 2013 63% of the electrical energy fed into the transmission networks in the region was generated from renewable sources.
From a report entitled "Central America: production statistics for the electricity subsector, 2013", prepared by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC):
"... The production of electricity in the six countries amounted to 45,735 GWh, 3.3% higher than in 2012.
In order to remove the main factor causing loss of competitiveness of enterprises, the caps on private generation need to be removed and regulated competition be allowed in the electricity market.
Costa Rican industrialist are demanding substantive measures to achieve lower prices of electricity and fuel, aiming to break down the monopolies held by the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE) and the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (RECOPE), and urging the use of energy potential from geothermal sources in the country.
The Executive is proposing a reform of the law on exploitation of geothermal resources to extend the period of the concessions granted to foreign companies from 25 to 30 years.
In order to encourage investment in the energy sector, the reform of the "Law on Exploration and Exploitation of Geothermal Resources" , sent by President Daniel Ortega to Parliament also proposes increasing the extendable term requested from the State by companies with exploitation rights, from 10 to 30 years.
Through its subsidiary Cerro Colorado Power, the concessionaire of the project, Ram Power, expects to complete the paperwork to begin the operation by June.
After obtaining the grant for geothermal energy exploration in the Casita project in 2008, the company Ram Power is prepared to sign with the government of Nicaragua the contract for the operation of the project, estimated for midyear.
In 2013 the geothermal plant belonging to the Ram Power Company generated revenue of $46.2 million and 424 thousand MW of net power.
The company that operates the San Jacinto-Tiziano geothermal plant and also exploitation rights to the Casita San Cristobal project presented its financial results for 2013, highlights of which include the financial performance of San Jacinto-Titian.