U.N. to insure geothermal explorers in east Africa - Reuters

[Eugene]

U.N. to insure geothermal explorers in east Africa
Thu Mar 22, 2007 10:46AM EDT

By Daniel Wallis

NAIROBI (Reuters) - The United Nations and World Bank have launched
a fund to help insure energy explorers hunting geothermal power sources
under Africa's volcanic Great Rift Valley, officials said on Thursday.

The Rift has the potential to produce more than 400 megawatts of
geothermal electricity, U.N. experts say, or more than half east Africa's
total power generation capacity, including all its power stations and
hydropower dams.

But exploration is very costly, so the African Rift Geothermal (ARGeo)
fund aims to encourage investors by paying for part of the bill at sites
where test drilling -- which can cost several millions dollars at a time
-- comes up "dry".

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSL2213511120070322