A power purchase agreement has been signed between Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations (TMGO), the company created ad hoc for the implementation of the Tulu Moye geothermal project, and the state-owned Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
As a result, TMGO has made several agreements for the implementation of the geothermal project with the Ethiopian Ministries of Finance and Economic Cooperation, as well as the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy. These agreements thus mark the start of the project’s implementation in the Oromia region in south-western Ethiopia.
The drilling work for the first phase of the project has been entrusted to Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen). The contract signed between the Kenyan company and TMGO stipulates that KengGen will drill around ten production wells and two injection wells. The company will also build a collection and injection system for a water-cooled condensing steam power plant with a capacity of 50 MW. The electricity produced on the site will be fed into the grid via a 230 kV substation and a 230 kV transmission line from Koka to Wakena.
Full implementation of the first phase of the Tulu Moye geothermal project will require an investment of $260 million. It will be financed by TMGO with loans from development partners, including the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). The USTDA has already allocated $1.1 million to TMGO for feasibility studies for the project by September 2018.
It is worth noting that the Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations (TMGO) is owned by a consortium consisting of Meridiam, a French company specialising in the development, financing and management of infrastructure projects, and Reykjavík Geothermal, a company specialising in geothermal energy, based in Iceland.
Jean Marie Takouleu