ADDIS ABABA (InfraCo Africa) – Corbetti Geothermal and its sponsors – InfraCo Africa (a PIDG company), Berkeley Energy who manage the Africa Renewable Energy Fund, Iceland Drilling and Reykjavik Geothermal – have announced that a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and Implementation Agreement (IA) have been signed on 31st April 2020 with the Government of Ethiopia and Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP). The signings mark the next step for the pioneering geothermal project.
“Corbetti Geothermal is extremely pleased to be participating in this signing ceremony. The signing of the PPA and IA today allows us to move forwards in partnership with EEP and the Government of Ethiopia in order to realize this important project for the benefit of the people of Ethiopia.” Helgi Leifsson, General Manager, Corbetti Geothermal.
Over the past decade, Corbetti and its sponsors have remained committed to the project and to developing Ethiopia’s geothermal potential. The PPA and IA signed today will allow the project to move into the next phase of implementation, and to commence the drilling program.
InfraCo Africa’s CEO, Gilles Vaes, said: “We remain committed to developing geothermal power in Ethiopia during these challenging times and are excited to be taking the next steps together and in close partnership with EEP and the Government of Ethiopia, to realize this ambitious project.”
Corbetti Geothermal will be one of the first pair of privately developed, owned and operated geothermal IPPs in Ethiopia. The complex project has evolved over time to manage the early stage development risks and costs associated with being a pioneer. Corbetti will be developed in two phases over a five year period. The first phase will drill four to six exploratory wells, with support from the Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility, to raise debt finance to drill a further four to seven wells and build a 50MW power plant, which is expected to become operational in 2023. The second phase will consist of an additional 100MW power plant and facilities. Whilst the overall size of the project has been reduced; totaling 150MW, the full Corbetti program will enable the the Government of Ethiopia to meet 18% of its 2025 geothermal generation target.
Source: InfraCo Africa