East Africa: Geothermal in Region Represents $40 Billion Investment Opportunity - GE Report

Re-imagining the future of power in Sub-Saharan Africa (GE Power)

Currently at 64 GW, the region’s power generation capacity is projected to grow at 4% each year across the various fuel sources to help meet the energy demand of the growing African population. The region’s current energy mix, primarily dominated by hydro and coal, is becoming more diversified following the rising interest in renewable technologies such as solar and wind.

Key themes in the regional energy transformation are centered on the 3Ds; Decarbonization, Decentralization and Digitization. On decarbonization, efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions have influenced the preference for wind, solar, geothermal and hydro as part of a more environmentally friendly energy mix.

Africa has a total installed geothermal generating capacity of over 644 MW. The
geothermal capacity for the East Africa region is estimated to exceed 15,000 MW, representing a $40 billion investment opportunity. Geothermal is an appropriate technology to meet base load energy demand but the high initial financing costs and exploration risks have made it a challenge for countries to increase capacity.

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