Corbetti geothermal project in Ethiopia secures govt PPA

The project company behind the Corbetti geothermal project in Ethiopia, along with its sponsors, has signed a new power purchase agreement (PPA) and a implementation agreement (IA) with the Ethiopian government and Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP) which will allow it to initiate the drilling programme.

Corbetti Geothermal Plc is sponsored by Reykjavik Geothermal Ltd, Iceland Drilling Co Ltd, the Berkeley Energy-managed African Renewable Energy Fund and InfraCo Africa, with the latter announcing the new signings.

The Corbetti project was envisaged to have some 520 MW of installed capacity developed across multiple phases in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. In December 2017, Corbetti Geothermal plc signed the PPA and the IA with the Ethiopian government and EEP for the delivery of the capacity that was planned originally.

In the meantime, the project was scaled down and will now total 150 MW. It will be developed in two phases over the next five years.

In the first phase, Corbetti will build a 50-MW power plant, which is expected to commence operations in 2023. In the second phase, a 100-MW power plant and other facilities will be added.

The project’s full capacity will enable the Ethiopian government to meet 18% of its 2025 geothermal generation target, InfraCo Africa said.

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