Ethiopia has unveiled plans to construct Africa’s largest geothermal power plant, which will generate 1 000 MW.

The Corbetti geothermal power plant will be constructed at a cost of $4-billion and is expected to be completed in 2023.

The Ethiopian government has contracted US-Icelandic private developer Reykjavik Geothermal to build and operate the plant, located in Corbetti Caldera, a hotbed of geothermal resource.

Reykjavik, which was founded in 2008, focuses on the development of high-enthalpy geothermal resources for utility-scale power production. It has been involved in projects in over 30 countries, including the world’s largest geothermal power plant, in Hellisheidi, Iceland.

“This deal is a significant step in enabling Ethiopia to realise the strategic vision of being a regional leader in power generation and export into East Africa,” Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister and chairperson of Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation Michael Debretsion said at the signing of the deal, in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital.

The plant will be built in two 500 MW phases over eight to ten years. The first 10 MW of power is expected to come on stream in 2015, with an additional 100 MW in 2016 and the balance of the first 500 MW phase in 2018.

The Corbetti project is part of US President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative, announced during his tour of the continent in June. Under the initiative, the US government has committed to investing $7-billion to add more than 10 000 MW of clean electricity in six countries in sub-Saharan Africa to enable new electricity access to 20-million households.

A key thrust of the initiative is to accelerate the development of the vast and renewable geothermal potential in the Eastern African region. Currently, more than two-thirds of sub-Saharan Africa’s population does not have access to electricity. In rural areas, only a mere 15% has access to grid electricity.
According to the International Energy Agency, sub-Saharan Africa requires a mind-boggling $300-billion in investment to achieve universal electricity access by 2030.

Ethiopia is among the countries with enormous potential of geothermal resources, as it lies in the Great East Africa Rift Valley and the Afar Rift Valley. The two valleys harbour large quantities of steam that has remained unexploited as Ethiopia has been concentrating on hydro and wind projects.

According to the Geological Survey of Ethiopia, extensive research has shown that sites like Abaya, Alto, Fentale, Kerbito, Tendaho and Tulu Moye have substantial steam with the potential to generate at least 5 000 MW. Currently, the country has man-aged to use only 10 MW of the resource at the Aluto Langano plant.

Construction of the Corbetti plant, coupled with ongoing hydro and wind projects, will ultimately put Ethiopia in a position to realise its dream of universal access to electricity for its 80-million people and also become a net exporter of electricity in East Africa.