Ethiopia's geothermal project comes up with encouraging results

Jul 23, 2007 - Xinhua

A geothermal project built in Dubti and Tendaho areas of north Ethiopia's Afar State, has come up with encouraging results, the Ministry of Mines and Energy said Monday.

The official Ethiopian news agency quoted Yeheyes Amedebirahan, an official with the ministry, as saying that the project clearly showed that the geothermal energy resource in the areas has a capacity of producing up to 30-megawatt electric power.

The ministry in collaboration with the Ethiopian Electric Power Cooperation and the Energy Market Group Company has been developing the geothermal energy resource, the news agency reported.

The Ethiopian government has allocated over 880,000 U.S. dollars while the U.S. government has provided 280,000 dollars for the implementation of the project, said the report.

Six wells have been sunk so far in order to utilize the immense geothermal energy resource that exists in the area, the report said, adding that the geothermal energy obtained from the wells can provide sufficient electric power to Semera, Dubti and Logiya towns of the state.

The project will enable the country export the electric power to neighboring countries besides meeting the demand of the regional state when the project goes fully operational, according to the report.