Friday, June 21, 2013

Tanzania:

Geothermal Power Tanzania Plans First Steam Generation Next Year (Bloomberg)

Geothermal Power Tanzania Ltd. plans to invest as much as $350 million to drill steam fields in the country’s south and build its first geothermal plants with the capacity to generate up to 140 MWe by 2018.

The company began drilling two wells in Tanzania’s southwestern Mbeya region this year and found there’s potential to create power from steam within at least two systems in the area, Chairman Graeme Robertson said in an interview today.

Geothermal Power, which has six prospecting licenses in Tanzania, may initially install a wellhead generator to provide 2 MWe by the middle of next year. So-called wellhead generators produce power once steam fields are ready, much quicker than awaiting construction of full-fledged plants.

The company then plans to deploy generations units capable of producing 5 to 10 MWe within two years and eventually 25 MWe units, Robertson said. “The actual potential will depended on the flow rates,” he said.

Geothermal Power is exploring options to raise funds including approaching development lenders such as the World Bank and African Development Bank, Robertson said.

Geothermal Power Tanzania Ltd. is 70 percent owned and managed by Mauritius-based Geothermal Power Ltd. The rest is held by Tanzania’s National Development Corp. and Interstate Mining & Minerals Ltd. in Tanzania, according to its website.

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