Sustainability analysis of the Ahuachapán geothermal field: management and modeling

The Ahuachapán geothermal field (AGF) is located in north western El Salvador. To date, 53 wells (20 producers and 8 injectors) have been drilled in the Ahuachapán geothermal field and the adjacent Chipilapa area. Over the past 33 years, 550 Mtonnes have been extracted from the reservoir, and the reservoir pressure has declined by more than 15 bars. By 1985, the large pressure drawdown due to over-exploitation of the resource reduced the power generation capacity to only 45 MW_e. Several activities were carried out in the period 1997–2005 as part of “stabilization” and “optimization” projects to increase the electric energy generation to 85 MW_e, with a total mass extraction of 850 kg/s.