The Canadian company has been granted a prospective geothermal permit in Guatemala. Six more are still pending.

Canadian company Radius Gold announced today that it has been granted one prospective geothermal license in Guatemala. According to the release, the company is still waiting to hear back from the authorities regarding six pending applications.

Radius first entered Guatemala in 2001 after being granted a gold exploration permit. On at least one occasion Radius's drill programs were halted because of large quantities of hot water and steam escaping from active drill holes, indicative of very high geothermal gradients. Radius claims to have identified a number of active geothermal systems for power generation.

Power generation in Guatemala is currently comprised of hydroelectric power stations, steam turbines, gas turbines, diesel generators and geothermal power stations, with geothermal power contributing less than 3% of the total power generated.

According to a recent study by the Argentine consultancy, Montamat, which evaluated electricity prices in 13 Latin American countries, prices in Guatemala are amongst the highest in Latin America at roughly $0.17/kwh, surpassed only by the Dominican Republic and Panama. At the same time, the Guatemalan government is forecasting that electric power demand is expected to reach a compounded annual growth rate over 8.0% to 2015. Guatemala must increase its installed capacity to meet the projected demand growth.

A study published in International Geothermal Development in 2003 noted that geothermal resources in Guatemala are estimated at 800 to 4,000 MW capacity, but most likely around 1,000MW. In 2003 the country's installed generating capacity was 1,700MW suggesting that geothermal energy could contribute significantly to securing the country's future power requirements. By 2007, Guatemala had succeeded in harnessing 46 MW of geothermal energy in the fields of Zunil and Amatitlan, both owned by the American geothermal technology company Ormat Technologies. Feasibility studies are being carried out on 3 other geothermal fields.

Source: Radius Gold