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Ethiopia and Japan to cooperate on development of geothermal master plan

Ethiopia and Japan to cooperate on development of geothermal master plan Aluto Langano Geothermal Power Plant (source: bgr.bund.de)
Alexander Richter 23 Oct 2013

Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) sign cooperation on development of Geothermal Energy Master Plan for Ethiopia, as well as technology transfer through training.

Reported today from Ethiopia, the Geological Survey of Ethiopia (GSE) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have “agreed to draw a project on the development of Geothermal Energy Master Plan, following the agreement signed between JICA and the Ethiopian government in April 2013.

The project will conduct a potential analysis in 18 sites, in Ethiopia.

Takahashi Shinya, project team leader with JICA said, the Ethiopian Government officially requested the government of Japan to assist in the development of Geothermal Master Plan.

The agreement is not limited to developing the Master Plan, but it is also useful in technology transfer through training Ethiopians. Accordingly, four professionals from GSE will be trained in Japan for one month as part of the project, Shinya added.

Geothermal Energy Master Plan which helps to generate additional electric power from geothermal sources is the first of its kind in Ethiopia, according to Shinya.

Solomon Kebede, Director of Geothermal Resources Exploration and Assessment the project will be helpful in identifying the geothermal energy potential of the country.

Previous studies conducted on geothermal potentials were not coordinated and scientifically analyzed. Moreover, earlier studies failed to indicate ways of prioritizing the sites according to their potential, Solomon noted.

Both parties agreed to avoid duplication of efforts and further identify issues to enhance the project’s outputs during the meeting.

Source: Ethiopian Herald via 2Merkato