Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Uganda: Government Promotes Geothermal Energy Development

New national policy targets geothermal energy usage (The Observer)

Uganda has released a revised draft of the National Energy Policy, which seeks to replace the older one of 2002, by, among other things, embarking on strategies that can promote new forms of energy such as solar and geothermal power.

By promoting the supply of new energies, government says the new policy will also focus on growing domestic demand and tapping into regional markets. The idea of growing demand is partly to influence a drop in power tariffs.

To attract more investments into the sector, the energy policy intends to gradually shift from primarily private sector led growth to public-private partnerships, and increased public financing of sector developments aimed at increasing affordability.

UK firm Bantu RG Energy, through its local subsidiary – Bantu Energy Uganda Limited – is looking to become the first company to put up a geothermal power plant in Uganda connected to the national grid.

The company has written to the Electricity Regulatory Authority over its plans of building a 10 MW geothermal power plant in the Panyigoro area of Nebbi district. The company plans to first undertake feasibility studies before applying for a generation license.