Iceland review - 2013, Page 75

ICELAND REVIEW 73
nificance of geothermal for developing
countries. “geothermal energy could be a
triple win: clean, reliable, locally-produced
power. And once it’s up and running, it’s
cheap and virtually endless.”
According to Ogola, apart from social
and economic developments which have
the potential to significantly improve liv-
ing standards, countries will also be able to
reduce use of fossil fuels and, in turn, benefit
from emission trading schemes.
However, as Zemedkhun explains, each
country is at a very different stage in geo-
thermal development. “Kenya is leading,
followed by Ethiopia and then there are
other countries like Burundi where devel-
opment is in the very early stages.”
As a result, Davíð says, the type of assis-
tance given to each country varies greatly
but may include field studies, assistance set-
ting up the appropriate institutional struc-
tures—and if a site is deemed suitable for
exploratory drilling—environmental impact
assessments (EIA).
When it comes to environmental impacts,
Zemedkhun is adamant that all issues are
thoroughly considered. “All projects, before
they get approval, need to meet the neces-
sary environmental rules and regulations.”
eNergy revoLutIoN
ICEIDA carries out most of its work on the
project from its headquarters in Reykjavík
but also from the Uganda country office.
“First we go into a dialogue with countries
about the priority areas. This is then usually
followed up by a visit where we find out
what areas they want to emphasize, what
the gaps are and define the cooperation that
Iceland will initiate with them,” Davíð says.
Collaboration between the World Bank
and Iceland on geothermal in East Africa
goes back to 2008 when Reykjavík Energy
Invest was granted an exploration license in
Djibouti. However, following the financial
difficulties of the company compounded
by the 2008 banking crisis, the project fell
through. Prior to that, ICEIDA provided
support for a geothermal project in Uganda
in 2005.
Energy access in Sub-Saharan Africa is
estimated at an average of 28 percent but
varies from as little as 6 percent. The East
Africa Rift Valley, though, is considered to
have massive geothermal potential—more
than 15,000 MW, sufficient energy for up to
ENERGY
“It’s part of following through on Iceland’s development policy, our commitment to assisting
countries in enhancing the production of renewable energy and contributing towards the objectives
of the UN Sustainable Energy for All framework,” explains Davíð Bjarnason at ICEIDA.