The signing ceremony at the Sheraton Addis officially launches the establishment of Corbetti Geothermal Power as an Ethiopian based company for geothermal development and operations. The total cost of the power project is 4 billion USD.
Michael Philipp, Board Chairman and one of the principal owners of Reykjavík Geothermal (RG), was among the guests, who attended the Arctic Circle Conference, held at Harpa Conference Centre, this past weekend.
Minister H.E. Dr. Michael Debretsion were both in attendance today to announce the first independent power project in Ethiopia’s history. The 1000MW Corbetti geothermal plant will be built in two 500MW stages and is expected to be the largest geothermal facility in of Africa, at a cost estimated at $4 billion over an 8-10 year construction period. Reykjavik Geothermal, a US-Icelandic private developer, will build and operate the power plant, located at Corbetti Caldera, considered a top geothermal resource by the team of Icelandic and Ethiopian geoscientists that have investigated the region.
Icelandic government agencies and private companies will provide support to the development of geothermal energy in Africa. Preparations are being made for a regional geothermal exploration project in the Bugurama/Ruzizi region in Burundi/Rwanda/DRC. Also, earlier this month, the Icelandic International Development Agency, ICEIDA, has signed a Partnership Agreement with the Government of Ethiopia for geothermal surface exploration and capacity building.
The Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency ERTA reported the announcement of Mr Hailemariam Desalegn Boshe, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia – of the agreement of Reykjavik Energy and Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation EEPCo to build and operate up to 1000 MW of geothermal power in Ethiopia.
Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic company that’s helped build power plants in more than 30 countries, agreed to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of projects in Ethiopia over the next 10 years.