Workers arrange the drilling line cleans trigone rock drilling bit at Aluto-Langano in Ziway, Ethiopia, in September.
Photo illustration: 731; Photographer: Amanuel Sileshi for Bloomberg Green
Ethiopia Taps Into Geothermal Riches to Diversify Its Grid
Drilling for geothermal energy is part of the government’s strategy to provide electricity to millions of Ethiopians and avoid dependency on hydropower.
Solomon Kebede looks concerned as he stares at the machine piercing the dark, moist soil of Ethiopia’s countryside. The drill has sunk a hole more than 450 meters (1,476 feet) deep and found nothing. Yet Kebede doesn’t despair; he has faith that the heat must be there.
“When drilling geothermal wells, you send your mind and heart to a place you don’t know, deep in the Earth’s core,” he says. “I’m part of the generation that’s trying to exploit these resources.”