Reykjavík Geothermal and the African Union will sign a USD 8 million (EUR 5.8 million, ISK 900 million) contract today allowing Reykjavík Geothermal to start drilling in the Ethiopian Rift Valley as part of two 500 MW power plants under construction. The energy produced by the power plants will be sold to the state electrical company Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
The contract will be signed by Dr Elham Mahmoud Ahmed from the African Union and Þorleifur Finnsson from Reykjavík Geothermal, visir.is reports.
The USD 8 million is being financed by the Ministry of Development in Germany, the European Union African Fund, and the German Development Bank.
The total cost of the project is expected to be USD 4 billion.
