- Marriot secures funds for two geothermal drilling operations.
- NPIF issued a seven-figure loan for the project.
Marriott Drilling Group is securing funds for its drilling operations in Ethiopia. The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund’s NPIF-Mercia Debt Finance, an investment firm run by Mercia and situated in Chesterfield, England, provided the money to the company. The deal’s value was not made public, but according to NPIF, it is a “seven-figure loan.”
The investment firm claims that the funding will give Marriott the working capital it needs to continue its drilling activities at two geothermal sites in Ethiopia. These are Tulu Moye and Hawassa, developed by Reykjavik Geothermal, an Icelandic geothermal energy company, and Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations (TMGO), a particular purpose vehicle owned by Meridiam, a French company that specializes in the development, financing, and management of infrastructure projects.
The Tulu Moye geothermal project targets an installed capacity of 150 MWe to be achieved in three phases of 50 MWe each. “The Tulu Moye and Hawassa projects will be critical to deploying renewable energy to meet Ethiopia’s growing electricity needs, and we are delighted to play our part. The NPIF-Mercia Debt Finance financing will provide additional capital to support the day-to-day operations at the site,” says David Jones, Marriott’s financial controller.