Geothermal energy occurs as heat in the earth’s crust and is present in areas where tectonism and volcanism have brought magma closer to the surface.
“It is commonly utilised for generating electricity,” Tadesse Shewakena Weldemelak, geologist and director, Drilling & Pumping Test Directorate at the Ethiopian Water Well Drilling Enterprise, told this reporter.
East African countries like Ethiopia and Kenya are now actively working to generate power through geothermal energy. This comes as the demand for geothermal energy has increased in the last few years.
This month, the Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations, the 1st independent power project in Ethiopia established in December 2017, announced that it has spudded (initial drilling) a well.
This project, with an estimated total capacity of 150 MW, will be developed in 2 phases (50 MW in Phase 1 and 100 MW in Phase 2).
It will have an investment of $800 million. The project is located at a site with an estimated geothermal energy capacity of over 1 GW.
Electricity generated in the Tulu Moye geothermal power plant will be sold to Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) as it has signed a Power Purchase and Implementation agreement with EEP and the Government of Ethiopia.
The Marriott Drilling Group is the 2nd contractor engaged for this geothermal project in Ethiopia after the drilling contract was signed with KenGen in year 2019. KenGen is a government enterprise in Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country.
