The Government of Ethiopia has signed a deal with French infrastructure development company Meridiam to purchase geothermal energy from the company’s US $800m Tulu Moye geothermal energy project located in Oromia Region of Ethiopia.
According to Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, this is the first PPP to enter such a stage in the country. “Geothermal enhances our energy security by providing constant output power to support industrialization and continued economic growth,” he added.
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Realizing the country’s power security
He further added that, when the project begins production, it will play a key role in realizing the country’s energy security and contribute to the development of the country. “It is one of the first mega public private partnership (PPP) projects in Ethiopia to go operational after the country introduced PPP and opened the energy sector to the private sector and foreign investors,” he affirmed.
The power purchase agreement was initially signed in December 2017 when the French company entered the country’s energy market. According to Meridiam CEO and Founding Partner Thierry Déau, the company is proud to support Ethiopia in its development. “The acceleration of investment in sustainable energy will be key to fight COVID-19 economic shock and job creation,” he affirmed.
Construction of the project is being implemented by Tullu Moye Geothermal Operations Private Limited Company while the drilling work will be done by KenGen from Kenya. The first phase which is expected to produce 50MW is expected to be completed in 2023. The French company aims to produce 150MW from phase and two.
