A milestone in the history of the UNU-GTP was the “Workshop for Decision Makers on Geothermal Projects and their Management” organized by UNU-GTP and
KenGen at Lake Naivasha (Kenya) 14-18th November 2005, in co-operation with UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) and ICEIDA (Icelandic International Development Agency). Six countries with
good geothermal potential in East Africa have decided to join forces and increase their cooperation in geothermal research and development, within the African Rift Geothermal Facility (ARGeo). The
UNU-GTP has accepted to play a leading role in guiding and implementing the capacity building component of ARGeo. The Workshop was the first step in the capacity building process.
The aim of the Workshop was to make high-level decision makers from the respective energy ministries, national electric power companies, geological surveys, and
finance ministries, better informed about the main phases of geothermal development and what kind of manpower, equipment, and financing is needed for each phase. Participation was by invitation only.
There were high-level decision makers from five of the ARGeo countries (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) at the Workshop, plus lecturers from Ethiopia (1), Iceland (4), Kenya (8) and
Philippines (1). Representatives of each ARGeo country also presented a priority project from their countries.
The presentations were of a high quality. It was clear from the great attention with which the participants sat through the long hours of lectures and from their
active participation in the discussions that they found the Workshop valuable. KenGen were wonderful hosts and made excellent arrangements for the Workshop, and the international travel for the
invited participants from the ARGeo countries. It has been great to work with the KenGen group (with Silas Simiyu as main contact) in preparing the programme, editing the papers etc. We started the
preparations in November 2004, and the fruits came a year later. The travel and hotel cost of all invited participants and lecturers were covered by UNU-GTP, the Icelandic Government and
ICEIDA. As mentioned in last year´s letter, a considerable expansion is planned in the operations of the UNU-GTP in the next few years. In addition to the second short course in Africa, annual
short courses are planned to start in Central America in 2006 and in Asia in 2007.
Lecturers and participants in the workshop
Presentations got good attention
