- KenGen and Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations (TMGO) have announced that drilling operations have begun on the Tulu Moye geothermal project in Ethiopia.
- The US 800 million project plans to commission an initial 50MW (phase 1) by 2023 and a second phase of 100MW by 2025.
- The Project is located in the area around the Tulu Moye volcano in Oromia.
Kengen first started to mobilise its drilling rigs at the beginning of this year. They will be drilling a total of twelve geothermal wells, installing water supply systems and equipment as part of the contract. Read more
The Tulu Moye Geothermal project is Ethiopia’s first geothermal IPP project. TMGO was established in December 2017 consisting of French investment firm Meridiam SAS (51 percent share) and the Icelandic geothermal company Reykjavik Geothermal (49 percent share).
Thierry Deau, founder and CEO of Meridiam, said a lot of resources are spent on the Tulu Moye geothermal project in the past three years. “Various studies have been undertaken to secure the geothermal resources; now we are going to invest more on the new phase to actually confirm there is a good resource,” he said. “For us it is a major project and it is an environmentally friendly one. It will provide Ethiopia with base load (energy output) which is affordable and that is the key for us in selecting projects,” he added.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
