The South American project, with a budget of €16 million (US$18 million) will help assess the geothermal reserves of Laguna Colorada (Potosí) and the contract includes detailed engineering, the supply of equipment and materials, the civil construction, assembly and start-up.

The pioneering Laguna Colorada pilot plant aims to assess the geothermal reserves of the area, located in the south of the country. This project is prior to the construction of a 100MW generation plant in the same geothermal field, which will provide electricity to local communities that currently do not have it.

Electricity generation through geothermal energy is a strategic project for Bolivia as part of its plan to supply electricity to undersupplied rural areas, as well as to become a net energy exporter.

The project consists of a pilot binary cycle geothermal plant, which uses 132,000kg/h of geothermal fluid at 170°C to generate 5.6MW of electrical energy, to later return it to the geothermal reservoir by means of reinjection into a well located at 1.5km from the plant. 

The electrical energy generated will be evacuated to the Bolivian National Interconnected System at a voltage of 230kV.