Addis Ababa, 27 January 2021,
The African Union Commission (AUC) through its Department of Infrastructure & Energy and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) have signed a GRMF Grant Contract for the Paka Drilling Programme.
The Agreement was signed by the AUC Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, H.E. Dr Amani Abou-Zeid, the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Planning Hon. Amb. Ukur Yatani EGH and the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) Eng. Jared O. Othieno.
The AUC’s Project Manager for the GRMF, Mr. Atef Marzouk, and the Energy Expert, Mr. Sylvain Degolmal, congratulate GDC on this achievement. “The African Union Commission (AUC) would like to congratulate the Geothermal Development Company (GDC), a fully government-owned company in Kenya, on the signing of the Grant Contract.” GDC is the first public developer to sign the grant contract with AUC which both symbolic and encouraging. By reaching this milestone, GDC through the Kenyan National Treasury and Planning ministry has demonstrated the commitment of the Government of Kenya to expand the development of geothermal resources in the country. The AUC and its partners KfW, BMZ, EU Africa ITF and FCDO (former DFID), are committed to fund bankable geothermal projects with respect to GRMF Financial scheme across East Africa region.
The total grant for the Paka Geothermal Project is USD 5,162,910. This is split to support 40% of the total drilling cost (drilling and testing programme) and 20% of the total infrastructure development (infrastructure upgrade) cost of the project. Through this support, GDC will drill two deep geothermal wells and upgrade the existing infrastructure to allow further development of the geothermal resource in the Project area.
The Paka Geothermal Project is located in the vast Baringo – Silali Geothermal Province. It is part of the first geothermal drilling programme (Baringo – Silali), north of the equator within Kenya’s East African Rift System. The project is situated 25km north of Lake Baringo and approximately 120km south of the largest desert lake, L. Turkana.
The Paka Geothermal Project is an integral component of GDC’s strategic plan, where the company envisions the development of 1,065MW from geothermal sources by 2030. Of this, approximately 100MW will be sourced from the Paka Geothermal Project.
“GDC would like to appreciate the African Union Commission (AUC) and its partners KfW, BMZ, EU Africa ITF and FCDO for the highly-significant GRMF funding support aimed at mitigating the high risks associated with geothermal development. We look forward to a continued partnership with GRMF in the development of our geothermal projects moving forward,” said GDC MD&CEO on signing the Grant Contract.
