Tanzanian Minister of Energy and Minerals, Sospeter Muhongo, has instructed the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company (TGDC) to begin drilling three wells in the area of Lake Ngozi by June 2016 to develop geothermal power projects that would increase country’s power generation capacity. The Tanzanian government plans to boost its total capacity to 10,000 MW by 2025, up from the current 1,577 MW.

Drilling is the first step before building plants to produce geothermal power. The minister explained that according to a research conducted in the field, it proved that the water temperature is immense, between 230 and 250 Centigrade, enough for electricity generation, hence it could be a new and important new source of renewable energy. “We cannot continue waiting due to the elevated shortage of power the country experiences,” he said according to AllAfrica.

Previously, Toshiba Corp. announced in December its future cooperation with Tanzania Geothermal Development to promote geothermal power generation and human resources development in the African nation, Bloomberg reported.

Tanzania has the third-largest geothermal resources in Africa, although the country relies on hydro and fossil fuels for about 97% of its power supply. Tanzania Geothermal Development is the sole organization with geothermal exploitation rights in Tanzania.