The Tulu Moye Geothermal Power Station, is a 50 MW (67,000 hp) geothermal power station, under construction in Ethiopia. When fully developed, the power station will be the first grid-ready independently developed geothermal power station in the country. The developers of this power plant, plan to expand it to 150 megawatts in the second phase, planned for the following five years.[1][2]
| Tulu Moye Geothermal Power Station | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country | Ethiopia |
| Location | Tulu Moye, Oromia Region |
| Coordinates | 08°09′41″N 39°07′46″E / 8.16139°N 39.12944°E |
| Status | Under construction |
| Construction began | 2021 |
| Commission date | 2023 (Expected) |
| Owner | Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Plc. (TMGO) |
| Thermal power station | |
| Primary fuel | Geothermal |
| Power generation | |
| Nameplate capacity | 50 MW (67,000 hp), Expandable to 150 MW (200,000 hp) |
Location
editThe power station is located near the Tulu Moye Volcano, in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi), southeast of Addis Ababa, the capital and largest city in Ethiopia. The concession site comprises 588 square kilometres (227 sq mi).[3]
Overview
editThe power station will be developed in phases. The first phase involves drilling of 12 holes, two of which are injection holes, while the remaining ten are production holes. The next infrastructure is the construction of a steam collection and injection system. The addition of a "water-cooled condensing steam plant" comes after that. Other infrastructure includes a 230kV electric switchyard and a 230kV transmission line to the Koka-Wakena substation, about 30 kilometres (19 mi), outside of Addis Ababa, where the energy will be injected into the national grid.[4]
Developers
editThe power station is under development by Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Private Limited Company (TMGO), a special-purpose company registered in Ethiopia. In turn, TMGO is 100 percent owned by Tulu Moye SAS, a company registered in France, whose shareholding is illustrated in the table below.[3]
| Rank | Shareholder | Domicile | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Meridiam Infrastructure Africa Fund | France | 51.00 |
| 2 | Reykjavik Geothermal | Iceland | 49.00 |
| Total | 100.00 |
Funding
editThe cost of construction of the first phase of this infrastructure project (the first 50 megawatts) is budgeted at US$260 million, borne by the developers; 25 percent as equity and 75 percent as debt.[3][4][5]
Construction
editIn October 2019, the drilling contract was awarded to Kenya Electricity Generating Company (Kengen), a company from neighboring Kenya.[5] The drilling contract price is quoted as US$52 million for eight wells; at $6.5 million per geothermal well.[6]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ ESI-Africa (8 April 2021). "First drilling of the 150MW Tulu Moye Geothermal project completed". ESI-Africa. Rondebosch, South Africa. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Alexander Richter (15 October 2020). "U.S. funding of $1.6 million announced for Tulu Moye geothermal project, Ethiopia". ThinkGeoEnergy. Reykjavik, Iceland. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ a b c World Bank (March 2020). "Ethiopia: Tulu Moyo Geothermal Power Project" (PDF). World Bank Group. Washington, DC, United States. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ a b Jean Marie Takouleu (12 June 2019). "Ethiopia: Reykjavik will launch Corbetti and Tulu Moye projects in September 2019". Afrik21.africa. Paris France. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ a b Mahlet Fasil (24 October 2019). "KenGen, Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Sign Drilling Contract". Addis Standard. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
- ^ Jean Marie Takouleu (9 April 2021). "Ethiopia: KenGen completes first drilling at Tulu Moye geothermal site". Afrik21.africa. Paris, France.