The Geothermal Development Company will drill six wells and support infrastructure in Baringo for
Sh1.3 billioThe Geothermal development company (GDC) has received a major boost in its bid to improve the Silali geothermal project in Baringo following the approval of its application for funding from the African Union Commission (AUC).
The company through the geothermal risk mitigation facility (GRMF) will now drill six geothermal wells as well as support key infrastructural works in Baringo at a cost of Sh1.3 billion.
The Baringo-Silali geothermal project is being developed by GDC and covers three geothermal prospects (Silali, Paka and Korosi) from which the company is looking to produce a total of 300MW by 2030.
In press statement, GRMF grants will account for 40 percent of the costs associated with the drilling of two wells in each of the three prospects and 20 percent of the total costs incurred during the development of requisite infrastructural work in the project area.
AUC’s risk mitigation facility marketing expert Sylvain Degolmal who spoke when he led a delegation to the site said, “we have reviewed the application which has met all the requirements and has been approved…the next step is for them to give us a date and venue for the signing.”
GDC’s managing director Johnson Ole Nchoe expressed his commitment towards ensuring they obtain the necessary approvals in a bid to fast-track the realization of the project.
While underscoring the importance of the geothermal resource in the country, Nchoe pointed out that the completion of the project would not only be of great benefit in the country but also to the larger East African region where he noted the resource exist but remains untapped.
GRMF was set up in 2012 by the African Union Commission, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU ITF) via KfW Entwicklungsbank (KfW) and the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
Its mandate is to promote the development of the geothermal energy sources in East Africa by removing the high upfront costs that are associated with infrastructure development in green-fields and initial exploratory drilling in geothermal fields.
