Developing geothermal and renewable energy projects by mitigating their risks.

ended

Geothermal project development has several risky components, the most important one being the resource risk. This concerns mainly deep geothermal projects, but some shallow geothermal open systems could also be included in this category of projects. Beyond exploration, the bankability of a geothermal project is threatened by this geological risk. The geological risk includes: - The short-term risk of not finding an economically sustainable geothermal resource after drilling; - The long-term risk of the geothermal resource naturally depleting rendering its exploitation economically unprofitable. Until the first borehole has been drilled into the geothermal reservoir, developers cannot be sure about the exact parameters (temperature and flow rate) of the planned geothermal electricity or h&c project. Once drilling has taken place, in situ pump tests, temperature and hydrological measurements then reduce the resource risk and make it possible to attract external capital. Risk insurance Funds for the geological risk already exist in some European countries (France, Germany, Iceland, The Netherlands, Denmark and Switzerland). The geological risk is a common issue all over Europe. With the notable exception of these six countries, project developers have very little capability to manage this financial risk. GEORISK project will work to establish such risk insurance all over Europe and in some key target third countries to cover the exploration phase and the first drilling (test). It means activities to be funded before financial institutions and IPP funding the confirmation drilling and surface systems. It appears clear that a risk mitigation scheme must be designed according to the market maturity of the sector.