Ethiopia's much publicized ambition of generating 1,000MW of electric power from geothermal sources faced a major setback this week. This came following an American firm's reluctance to proceed without renegotiating terms of the power purchase agreement (PPA) it signed with Ethiopian authorities, sources disclosed to Fortune.
Barely two months ago, senior executives of Corbetti Geothermal Plc. signed the PPA with their counterparts at the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEC). This agreement was for the latter to buy electricity generated from geothermal power at sites in the Tulu Moye and Abaya areas, near the town of Shashemene, in Oromia Regional State, 250km south of Addis Abeba.
