Tanzania: CIF provides geothermal finance

The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) has approved a $21.7m facility to finance development of the Ngozi geothermal steam field in south-west Tanzania, eventually adding up to 823GWh/yr to the grid. The $5m loan and $16.73m grant come from the CIF’s Scaling-up Renewable Energy Programme. Tanzania has around 15 geothermal sites with an untapped estimated potential of 650MW, and Ngozi is planned as a showcase for the technology. Exploratory test drilling will be conducted and steam-gathering infrastructure installed at the Ngozi site.