INE receives 3 bids for 2 geothermal projects

Nicaragua's energy regulator INE has received offers from three bidders interested in developing two geothermal projects with total installed capacity of 400MW, project advisor Ariel Zúñiga told BNamericas. The contracts are for the 250MW El Hoyo Monte Galán project 6km from Momotombo, an active volcano in León department, and the 150MW Managua-Chiltepe project, which is about 12km from capital city Managua. Bidders could submit bids for either project or for both projects. INE sold eight packages of bidding rules and received bids on May 31. US company Ormat submitted one bid for the El Hoyo Monte Galán project, while GeoNica, a consortium of Italian company Enel and El Salvadorian company La Geo, submitted offers for both projects, as did Canadian company Cerro Colorado Power, Zúñiga said. Ormat has 3MW of installed geothermal capacity in Mexico, 24MW in Guatemala, 15.5MW in Costa Rica and 30MW in Nicaragua. INE has already begun the evaluation process, which is usually for a two-month period but can legally be extended up to three months, Zúñiga added.