Major Russian power producer eyes Africa presence

The African continent has good prospects of becoming the global leader in exploration and use of its geothermal potential, the deputy CEO of Russian energy company RusHydro, Sergey Machekhin, told TASS this week.

According to Machekhin, the company is currently considering 15 projects in 11 African countries.

“Exploration and development of the geothermal potential is one more area of our active operations in Africa. Geothermal plants are the green energy and the African continent can become a global leader in comprehensive use and development of the geothermal potential,” he said, specifying that this regards Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia in particular.

“We are proactively working in Egypt with counterparts from Rosatom, where we are designing the waterworks segment and structures for the El Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. We are well remembered and known in Sudan; we are ready to talk to them on the upgrade of their facilities,” Machekhin stated, adding that RusHydro is also close to concluding agreements with Algeria and Ethiopia.

The energy company, whose portfolio includes geothermal power plants in Kamchatka, is offering all available operating technologies to African partners, he said.

The second Russia-Africa Summit was held in St. Petersburg last week. The sides aimed to strengthen trade and economic cooperation, with more than 160 agreements signed during the two-day event.

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