Chinese, Kenyan firms finalize geothermal power project contract in Ethiopia

A Chinese company and Kenya’s state-owned power producer have secured a geothermal power project in Ethiopia.

The announcement has been made by Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) on February 25 saying that it together with Chinese oil engineering firm Kerui Group Co. Ltd. landed the contract to provide service to Ethiopia’s state-run power producer Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).

According to a statement released by KenGen, the contract, which is for the implementation of drilling rigs and rig operation and maintenance for drilling geothermal wells at Aluto, is financed by the World Bank through a loan to the Ethiopian government for 7.6 billion Kenyan shillings (about USD 76.8 million).

“The project will be implemented in two phases, phase I which is purchase of drilling rigs, and phase II which entails provision of drilling,” Rebecca Miano, Chief Executive Officer of KenGen said in the statement.

Rebecca Miano further revealed that Kenya is Africa’s number one geothermal energy producer and among top ten in the world. “The country has a geothermal installed capacity of 685MW with an estimated potential of 10,000 MW along the Rift Valley. Currently this potential is being harnessed in Olkaria, Menegai and Eburru fields,” she added, as reported by Xinhua.

Ethiopia had tried to venture into geothermal development in efforts dating as far back as 1981 but was yet to make a commercial breakthrough, Abraham Belay, CEO of EEP opined. “Currently we have some geothermal drilling rigs that are idle and now broken down and therefore the need to purchase new ones,” Belay added.