Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - The University of Guadalajara's Academic Center for Seismology and Volcanology de Occidente (SisVoc) is developing an investigation to determine the areas of Jalisco, Nayarit and Tlaxcala in which geothermal energy, which is considered renewable and clean, can be exploited.

The SisVoc at Centro Universitario de la Costa (CUCosta), will receive $33 million pesos in funding to implement cutting edge technology to conduct "underground x-rays" from the surface in order to detect salmueras, or hot springs, that can generate electricity.

"University academics will explore places like Ameca and Bosque de la Primavera in Jalisco; Cerro Ceboruco in Nayarit, and Tlaxcala to identify areas likely to be used by agencies like the Federal Electricity Commission," SisVoc Director Francisco Núñez Cornú said.

This study, which will involve researchers from Europe and Latin America, is made possible by the recent addition of the University of Guadalajara to the Mexican Center for Innovation in Geothermal Energy (Cemie-Geo), a body which is financed by the federal government's Sustainable Energy Fund and part of the National Council's Center for Science and Technology.

The Rector General of this House of Study at CUCosta, Tonatiuh Bravo Padilla Izcóatl, stressed the commitment of the University of Guadalajara to bet on renewable energy through scientific studies that develop and reinforce alternative resources that allow society to be less dependent on oil.

The partnership with this national research center will strengthen the technical and human resources of SisVoc, which has been around for 15 years. "Part of the project allows us to double our research staff, open new lines of research in areas where we lacked specialists and equipment and buy the latest equipment for the area of exploration of natural resources and natural hazards," said Núñez Cornú.

Dr. Federico Graef, CEO of the Center for Scientific Research in Higher Education of Ensenada (CICESE), which houses the Cemie-Geo, said that this project is unprecedented in Mexico not only for the resources that will be used, but because in the next four years it will allow technological development and human resources in the field of geothermal energy, a sector that has hitherto been neglected.

The press conference was also attended by Dr. Jose Manuel Romo, who is responsible for the project on behalf of the CICESE.