ADDIS ABABA (Semonegna) – Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) signed a quadripartite contract with two Japanese and a Turkish company which involves an order of engineering, procurement and construction for Aluto Langano Geothermal Wellhead Power System in central Ethiopia. The two Japanese companies are Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation (Toshiba ESS) and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota Tsusho), whereas the Turkish engineering company is Egesim Energy Electro-Mechanic Construction Contracting Co., Ltd (Egesim).
- Toshiba ESS will be in charge of supplying the geothermal steam turbine and the generator,
- Toyota Tsusho will carry out installation of geothermal wellhead power system engineering, procurement and construction of steam gathering system, wellhead power system, and connecting to the substation, and
- Egesim will be responsible for the construction work of the plant.
Aluto Langano Geothermal Wellhead Power System is a 5 MW small scale geothermal power plant where EEP plans to commence commercial operations in August 2021. The construction funds will be arranged by the Grant Aid program by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (Grant Agreement amount: 1,842 million yen).
Toshiba ESS will deliver its small scale geothermal power generation system at this power plant. The small scale geothermal power generation system that has been developed by Toshiba ESS generates power from geothermal resources with outputs ranging from 1 MW to 20 MW. Capable of being installed within a short period for early operation and it is a portable power generation system that can effectively utilize a small number of drilled wells.
Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous nation with a population of over 100 million. Although the country is growing economically, its electrification access stands at 30% and the country therefore faces the need to increase its power facilities.
Ethiopia possesses an equivalent of roughly 10,000 MW of geothermal potential resources and the country is planning to develop new geothermal power plants totaling a capacity of roughly 2,500 MW* by the year 2030.
Toyoaki Fujita, Business Development Executive at Toshiba ESS, said, “We are extremely proud to receive this facilities order, which is our first in Ethiopia for power plant. We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on a comprehensive partnership in geothermal power with EEP in September 2014. Based on this MOU, we have been supporting them on human resources development activities such as training some of their executives and managers at our company utilizing various Japanese government support programs. When Prime Minister of Ethiopia came to Japan in August 2019, he visited our Keihin Product Operations to see our manufacturing technology of geothermal power. Going forward we will maintain ongoing initiatives in human resources development and contribute to the development of geothermal power generation in Ethiopia.”
Ethiopia is the second country for Toyota Tsusho to carry out a geothermal power generation project in Africa, following its first project in Kenya. Toyota Tsusho is placing “African Growth Strategy” and “Renewable Energy Strategy” as priority areas in its Mid-term Business Plan. Based on these strategies, Toyota Tsusho will work on the development of business by utilizing geothermal, wind power, and photovoltaic power generation technologies, contributing to Africa’s growth through the development of energy infrastructure essential for economic development.
Sources: Toshiba ESS & Toyota Tsusho