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KenGen completes drilling at Ethiopia’s

Tulu Moye geothermal project

KENYA’S KenGen has completed drilling of the Sudan.
first well for the Tulu Moye geothermal project in Sigurgeir Geirsson, Tulu Moye Geothermal’s
the Oromia region of south-west Ethiopia. chief technical officer, said that the fact that the
Rufat Maina, the project site manager, said facility was located in the Rift Valley of East
drilling for the second well was ongoing and Africa has great potential to generate geother-
more than 1,000 metres of the planned 2,500 mal energy even beyond the initially planned
metres have been drilled and excavated. 150 MW.
The project intends to drill up to 10 wells for TMGO plans to commission the first phase
the initially planned two phases of development of the project that will generate approximately 50
under a $52mn contract, which also includes the MW of electricity in 2023, followed by the sec-
provision of geoscientific surveys at the project ond phase that will raise the capacity to 150 MW
site. two years later, in 2025 to be precise.
The Tulu Moye geothermal project is being The output will be sold to Ethiopian Electric
developed by Tulu Moye Geothermal Opera- Power (EEP) under a power purchase agreement
tions (TMGO), which is owned by Meridiam, (PPA) signed in April 2020.
a Paris-based investor and asset manager and EEP is a state-owned company engaged in the
Reykjavík Geothermal Ltd. KenGen is the joint production, transmission, distribution and sale
construction partner. of electrical energy in East African countries.
KenGen in June 2019 won a $52m tender Kengen aims to use geothermal to maintain
to develop the Tulu Moye geothermal wells in its relative ability to supply power successfully to
Ethiopia. customers and avoid the blackouts and shortages
The deal is KenGen’s largest foreign project. across in East Africa, both in Kenya and abroad.
It aims to supply geothermal drilling rigs and Ethiopia faces annual growth of up to 32% in
accessories and then drill eights wells initially at power demand, and aims to have 2,000 MW of
the site at Aluto Langano in southern Ethiopia, new geothermal capacity by 2030, accounting for
and could built another 12 at a later date. 8% of the country’s forecast 25,192 MW by that
KenGen has also done similar work in Como- time.™
ros, Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Djibouti and

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