Carbon Counts

Ethiopia recently hosted the largest geothermal energy conference in East Africa - the ARGeo 6. The conference was the sixth of the biennial event, following on from other successful meetings across the region over recent years. Carbon Counts was invited to present on its recent work in Uganda on the formulation of geothermal energy policy and law.

Although geothermal energy prospects in Uganda have been known about for more than 30 years, exploratory drilling for geothermal resources has yet to take place anywhere in the country. The current situation has arisen despite a wide variety of surface studies being undertaken by Government and development partners, and a number of geothermal exploration licenses being issued to private sector prospectors over recent years. In addition, policy commitments have been made in support of the technology, including the availability of a feed - in tariff for geothermal power plants.

This Technology Transfer Advances Uganda's

• Nationally Determined Contribution to "increase the amount of renewable energy capacity by at least 1,100 Mega Watts compared to business- as- usual by 2030, generating an estimated 4.6 - 5.2 Tera watts (TWh) (million watts) more than in the business-as-usual scenario case. Technologies include hydro, solar, biomass and geothermal".

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