Zambia is seeking collaboration with Geothermal Development Company (GDC) on the Direct Use of geothermal energy.
Speaking during a tour of the Direct Use demonstration projects at the Menengai Geothermal Project, the Kalahari GeoEnergy team from Zambia said they were looking for best practices in the region to establish areas of collaboration to enable them to implement the same back in their country.
“We looked around and chose GDC because it’s one of the best in the industry within the region. We want to draw lessons from this tour and see what can be applied back in Zambia,” said Dr. Moses Banda head of the delegation.
Direct Use Manager Eng. Martha Mburu said GDC has made great milestones in the Direct Use of geothermal energy since it was established and is ready to much-needed support to Zambia which can be tailor-made to suit their expectations.
“GDC has made major strides through this demonstration projects and the knowledge and improvements made are now ripe to move to the next stage which is the commercialization of the same. A demonstration project is key in proving a concept and also providing an opportunity to learn and improve,” she said.
She added: “When coming up with a Direct Use project we will look at the location, infrastructure and what benefits the local community around because they are the ones to approve or decline it”.
The delegation from Zambia was represented by officials from the Kalahari GeoEnergy Company, the Office of the President in Zambia and the Chief of the Chiefdom in the region the projects are expected.
Zambia’s geothermal wells have low pressure; not sufficient to generate electricity but they plan to have Direct Use projects that seek to boost the socio-economic livelihoods of the locals within the project areas.
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