French and Dominican geologists and geochemists conducted water and rock surveys in 20 areas of the Dominican Republic to determine geothermal potential and assess where there are conditions to generate clean energy, as part of a bank-financed study Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
The study “Specific Agreement for the Evaluation of the Geothermal Potential of the Dominican Republic” (“Acuerdo Específico para la Evaluación del Potencial Geotérmico de la República Dominicana”) is carried out by the French Geological and Mining Research Office (BRGM) and the Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM), through the National Geological Service (SGN), where they will also investigate which areas are most conducive to developing geotourism projects.
The French technicians take 100 kilos of water and rock to analyze and determine the temperature that exists in the depth of the territories starting from the chemical composition of the waters, explained Bernard Sanjuan, head of The Georeferential Division of Deep and Surface Geothermal Resources of the BRGM.
The director of the National Geological Service, Santiago Muñoz Tapia, explained that among the areas of greatest interest are the Constanza-Las Yayas de Viajama axis because they are areas of recent volcanism (not active), between 500 thousand and 700 thousand years ago. There is also geothermal interest in the areas of Padre Las Casas, Vicente Noble, Canoa – where there is a thermal spa – San Juan, Enriquillo, Pedro Santana and San José de las Matas – where there are also mineral waters.
Bernard Sanjuan said that the interpretation of the data collected could be used in the MEM’s National Hydrocarbon Data Base (BNDH) because “there are many interactions between the oil data and the geothermal data” and took samples from the Maleno well, where there was previously no data on the water chemistry.
In addition to Sanjuan, the French geologist Vincent Bouchot, hydrogeologist Benoir Vittecoq, geochemist Frédérick Gal, are participating in the field study. Meanwhile, from SGN participants include Jesús Rodríguez, head of the Department of Geological Resources and Miners, and Yenny Rodríguez, of the Hydrogeology and Water Quality Division.
