Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Ethiopia:

EEPCO to Pay U.S. $630.7 Million Annually for 1,000 MWe Geothermal Power (allafrica.com)

More details are emerging of the massive deal to build a 1000 MWe geothermal energy farm in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) is set to pay 630.7 million dollars a year to Reykjavik Geothermal (RG), once the latter completes its 1,000 MWe geothermal project near Shashemene, 240km south of Addis Abeba.

After negotiations that spanned 18 months, the two parties signed a Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at Sheraton Addis. The agreement calls for a tariff of 0.079 dollars a kWh for the first 500 MWe of the project, and 0.065 dollars a kWh for the second phase, which accounts for the remaining 500 MWe.

As part of the 25-year agreement, for a year and half, Reykjavik will generate 20 MWe, according to the PPA. Details will be clearly defined in the supplemental agreements to be signed within the coming three months, according to Mihiret Debebe, chief executive officer of EEPCO. By 2016, the capacity is projected to be 100 MWe and reach 500 MWe by 2020, completing the first phase of the project.

The power plant is to be constructed at Corbetti Caldera - a volcanic mountain in Ethiopia's Rift Valley at a total cost of four billion dollars.

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