Ethiopia’s state-owned power utility, Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), reported late last month that the drilling of the first well for the Tulu Moye Geothermal project has been finalised.
Rufat Maina, the project site manager, also stated that drilling for the second well is ongoing.
The Tulu Moye Geothermal project is Ethiopia’s first geothermal IPP initiative. It will be developed in two phases with a target of 150MW of geothermal power generation capacity.
The developers plan to commission an initial 50MW (phase 1) by 2023 and a second phase of 100MW by 2025.
24-month drilling and construction timeline
The project is developed by Tulu Moye Geothermal with KenGen as joint contruction partner.
Tulu Moye Geothermal’s chief technical officer, Sigurgeir Geirsson, believes that being located in the Rift Valley of East Africa there is great potential to generate geothermal energy beyond the initially planned 150MW.
The project plans to drill up to 10 wells for the initially planned two phases of development.
For the second well more than 1,000 metres of the planned 2,500 metres has been drilled and excavated, explained Maina.
Construction is expected to be completed in two years with a cost of $800 million.
The Tulu Moye Geothermal project brings the international geothermal scientists to Ethiopia, including from the US, Iceland and Kenya, in a great example of international and African regional cooperation at its best.
The vision of the Ethiopian Government is to develop their vast geothermal resources by partnering with international scientific expertise and private sector financing.
