Reykjavik Geothermal, the Icelandic geothermal development company has agreed to develop as much as 1,000 megawatts of geothermal projects in Ethiopia over the next 10 years, according to Bloomberg.

Reykjavik expects to start drilling test wells next year, Chairman Michael Philipp told Bloomberg in an interview on September 27, in New York.

The plant will produce 10 MW by 2015, and a total of 500 MW by 2018. A second phase of the project may have a capacity to produce as much as 500 MW of energy. Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. has agreed to buy all the electricity under a 25-year contract, Bloomberg reported.

East Africa's Great Rift Valley, which stretches across eight countries, have an estimated 20 gigawatts of geothermal energy potential, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The project, which will be the largest geothermal power undertaking in the continent, is planned to be located in Corbetti Caldera region of Ethiopia.

Source: Bloomberg