ThinkGeoEnergy
Carlo Cariaga
Tuesday June 28, 2022
Djibouti, Africa (source: flickr/ Stéphane Pouyllau, creative commons)
Icelanding engineering firm Verkis has received an ISK 4 million (approx. USD 30,300) funding from the World Goals Fund for Development Cooperation to conduct a feasibility study for the direct use of geothermal energy at Assal Lake in Djibouti.
Egil Viðarsson, Secretary General of Verkís, says that the project will help the company in developing ways to increase business opportunities and sustainable utilization of renewable resources in Djibouti. In addition, results of the feasibility study will provide guidance for international best practices regarding the sustainable use of geothermal resources and how gender equality can be promoted in such projects.
The project will be carried out for the Djiboutian Office of Geothermal Development (ODDEG), a government agency that promotes the development of geothermal resources in Djibouti with the aim of reducing oil imports, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving the nation’s quality of life.
During the signing of the agreement, Minister of Foreign Affairs Martin Eyjolfsson expressed his satisfaction for the projects that showed how the Icelandic government and companies contributed to the United Nations’ global goals through these development cooperation projects.
In late 2021, KenGen announced the start of drilling of the first of three wells for the Galla Le Koma geothermal project in th region of Lake Assal in Djibouti.
Djibouti currently has no geothermal facilities yet but has an estimated geothermal potential capacity of 1000 MW. If developed, this will be enough to supply the country’s power demand.
Source: Verkis