The African Development Bank is working on an ambitious geothermal development program for Africa.
Apart from the gigantic projects such as the 400 MW geothermal development project under implementation in Menengai, Kenya, the AfDB is also working on a series of small-scale geothermal units, adapted to the specific context of each country of the East African Rift Valley having geothermal potential.
It is currently working with the government of Djibouti on the development of a 50 MW power plant in the Lac Assal region.
In Ethiopia, the AfDB has played a leading role in defining a geothermal development roadmap.
In Tanzania, the AfDB is leading the development of the scaling-up renewable energy program of the Climate Investment Funds, which will include the financing of a geothermal development project.
In the Comoros, the AfDB has started the identification process for a 20 MW geothermal plant, matching the needs of the archipelago.
As explained by Tonia Kandiero, AfDB Resident Representative in Tanzania, during the 4th African Rift Geothermal Conference held in November 2012 in Nairobi, “Our ambition is to support the accelerated development of the large untapped geothermal resource potential in the Eastern Africa region.
Geothermal development has been relatively limited in this region in the past.
Only about 217 MW of geothermal energy has been developed so far, most of it being in Kenya. This is insignificant compared to the region’s huge potential, estimated at 10,000 MW in Kenya alone.”
Leave a Reply