A key geothermal facility from New Zealand is exploring ways of collaborating with GDC to boost technical capacity in the geothermal development, steam field development and resource management.
The New Zealand Africa Geothermal Facility (NZ-AGF), is also in talks with GDC in providing financial grant in order to support the latter’s quest to develop country’s vast geothermal resources. The facility offers responsive, flexible technical assistance and capacity building services and aims to alleviate barriers to development, improve understanding and regulation of geothermal resources, progress projects, de-risk and secure financing for investment.
Speaking on Thursday, July 11, 2019 during a tour of the Menengai Geothermal Project, Mr. Markos Melaku, one of the officials, said Facility has vast technical experience in geothermal and would like to collaborate with GDC in capacity building.
“We want to offer technical assistance to GDC in the development of geothermal energy,” he noted. He was accompanied by the Team Leader and Project Manager Mr. Peter R. Barnett who shared the same sentiments.
The New Zealand Africa Geothermal Facility (NZ-AGF) is being implemented under the New Zealand and the African Union Commission Partnership Arrangement, signed at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in June 2017.
The target countries for the Facility are those within Eastern and Southern Africa that have geothermal potential and are eligible for Geothermal Risk Mitigation Facility funding, specifically: Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Eritrea, Djibouti, Comoros, Burundi and Democratic Republic of Congo. The overall goal of the Facility is to expand access to affordable, reliable and clean energy in East African nations through the increased use of geothermal energy resources.
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