The EPC contract for the Phase 1 (50 MW) of the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project in Oromia, Ethiopia, was signed yesterday with the consortium of Mitsubishi Corporation and SEPCOIII Electric Power construction Co. Construction is expected to start in September this year for a commissioning by December 2024.
The project is led by Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Plc (TMGO), a joint-venture between Meridiam (51%) and Reykjavik Geothermal (49%).
The facility will be Ethiopia’s first Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, and a pathfinder for future geothermal developments in the country. It is expected to be set up on one of the best geothermal fields in the world, with an estimated capacity of over 1 GW.
Drilling for phase 1 started in March 2020 but was suspended for several months due to travel restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Drilling activities were able to resume only in mid-June 2020 and the first well, GA-1, was completed in Q1 of 2021. GA-2 and GA-3 were eventually drilled in 2021, followed by GB-1 were drilling is still ongoing.
Under a contract signed in 2019, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is the one in charge of drilling 10 geothermal wells and 2 injection wells to accomplish the first phase of 50MW within the next two years.
Full details on the Tulu Moye Geothermal Project are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.