Iceland supports World Bank publication on handbook on geothermal energy
ESMAP, the World Bank‘s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program, has published a Geothermal Handbook, a comprehensive guide to planning and financing geothermal projects. The primary authors of the handbook are Magnus Gehringer, Senior Energy Specialist, ESMAP, and Victor Loksha, Senior Energy Economist, ESMAP. The Icelandic Foreign Ministry has financed Mr. Gehringer's work on the handbook since 2010.
The handbook was launched yesterday, 17 October at the World Bank. Rohit Khanna, ESMAP's Program Manager, thanked the Icelandic authories for the support to the work, and in particular Foreign Minister Skarphéðinsson for tirelessly promoting the importance of geothermal energy and providing support to the work of ESMAP.
This is the first handbook the World Bank publishes on geothermal energy programmes. S. Vijay Iyer, Director of the World Bank's Sustainable Energy Department, said that the bank was putting growing emphasis on the importance of geothermal energy in its work; the experiences of Iceland and Kenya were a good example of this.
Karl Gawell, Executive Director of the Geothermal Energy Association, GEA, said that the publication came at exactly the right time as there was a growing need to present detailed information on building geothermal plants to politicians around the world, and to those shaping the future policies on energy resources in countries with geothermal energy.
In a panel discussion following the launch, participants agreed on the importance of further work and promotion of geothermal energy, in states with limited resources of energy. A representative of the Icelandic Foreign Ministry introduced the coopeeration of the Foreign Ministry and the World Bank on Geothemal energy projects in East Africa which was launched in November 2011.