Above: Nevis Peak, the site of the island’s geothermal project (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

El Salvador will establish a geothermal energy training centre for Latin America and the Caribbean with a $2 million grant from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Geothermal is one of the great energy hopes in the Caribbean, with projects underway on islands including Nevis and Dominica. (For more on Nevis’ geothermal project, click here).

The centre will help the region’s countries develop their capacities to exploit the resource.

The project, which was approved by the IDB Board of Executive Directors, will provide the only theoretical and practical graduate-level training in geothermal energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In 2010, Universidad de El Salvador, together with LaGeo and with support from Italy, launched a specialized degree course on a pilot basis.

El Salvador has a particularly high potential for geothermal, with two fields currently being exploited in Ahuachapan and Berlincon.