Mannvit Consulting Engineers and Verkís Consulting Engineers, two Icelandic companies, will work as consulting companies for the Tulu Moye geothermal project in southwest Ethiopia. An agreement to this effect was recently signed with Tulu Moye Geothermal (TMGO), the company in charge of the project.
The Tulu Moye geothermal project in southwestern Ethiopia is increasingly taking shape. Mannvit Consulting Engineers and Verkís Consulting Engineers, two Icelandic companies, have just signed a consulting agreement with Tulu Moye Geothermal (TMGO), the company in charge of the project. These two consulting companies have decided to present themselves as a joint venture.
Together, they will provide engineering advice on access road construction, drilling platforms, drilling, well testing and steam field development. Mannvit and Verkís also intend to work on the Tulu Moye geothermal project with Landsvirkjun Power, Iceland’s national electricity company, Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR), a consulting and research company providing specialised services to the electricity industry and MGM Consult, an architectural firm. The arrival of these new actors will accelerate the project.
In September, the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced $1.1 million in funding for the feasibility study for the first phase of the Tulu Moye geothermal project. “We must complete this funding by the end of next year (2019). The first wells will be drilled, proving the viability and reliability of the resource. After that, the start of Phase 1 delivery for the first 50 MW will follow by the end of 2021,” explained Darrell Boyd, TMGO’s Managing Director.
Ultimately, the Tulu Moye geothermal project will have a capacity of 520 MW. It will require an investment of $2 billion over the next eight years. All that remains is for the French company Meridiam and Iceland’s Reykjavik Geothermal (RG) to take the stage. They have already signed agreements in 2017 for the resale of electricity to Ethiopian Electric Power, the public company in charge of electricity distribution. The objective of this agreement is to attract further private investment in the Tulu Moye geothermal project, but also to develop another geothermal project located in Corbetti, in the centre of the country. The two geothermal projects will supply 1000 MW to the Ethiopian national grid.
Jean Marie Takouleu
