East Africa’s Rift Valley is ripe for geothermal energy development the
U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) said yesterday at the climate change
conference in Poland.
The century-old technology that taps steam from hot underground rocks
is poised for a massive expansion up the Rift Valley in the 21st
century, following the completion of a $1 million project testing
advanced seismic and drilling techniques in Kenya.
The project, funded by UNEP and the Global Environment Facility
(GEF) found wells of steam able to generate 4-5 megawatts (MW) of
electricity and one yielding a bumper amount of 8MW, have been hit
using the new technology.
UNEP said the test results could mean a saving of as much as $75
million for the developer of a 70MW installation as well as reduced
electricity costs for generators and consumers, experts estimate.
The main challenge to geothermal expansion along the Rift has been
the risk associated with drilling and the high costs if steam is missed.
The
Joint Geophysical Imaging project aimed to overcome these risks, by
using techniques known as Micro Seismic and Magneto Telluric surveys
and studies for identifying promising new drilling sites.
UNEP hopes an international effort in 2009 will expand
geothermal up and down the Rift, which runs from Mozambique in the
South to Djibouti in the North.
Monique Barbut, CEOand Chairperson of the GEF, said, "Overcoming
the economic and technical hurdles to renewable energy generation is
part of our shared responsibility. The work in the Rift Valley is
demonstrating that geothermal is not only technologically viable but
cost effective for countries in Africa where there an overall potential
of at least 7,000 MW".
Kenya’s current electricity capacity is around 1,000 MW. The country
relies heavily on hydro-electric plants, generation systems that have
in recent years suffered as a result of low rainfall and water supplies.
The country has set itself a goal of generating 1,200 MW from geothermal by 2015.
Two years ago the GEF Council approved the Africa Rift Valley
Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) backed with close to $18
million of funding and involving UNEP and the World Bank.
The
project, which will underwrite the risks of drilling in Djibouti,
Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, is now set to commence
in early 2009 and will be able to call on the equipment and techniques
piloted by Kenyan utility KenGen and UNEP.
Separately Kenya and private
investors are also seeking support funding from the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol for a further 35-MW extension
which is currently in the validation stage.
Ormat technologies (NYSE: ORA) last week announced the completion of phase two construction at the Olkaria III geothermal power plant in Kenya–adding 35 MW to the plants baseload power.
A
contract has recently been awarded to a Chinese company to drill as
part of the development of a new Olkaria IV plant. As a result of the
UNEP-GEF Joint Geophysical Imaging project the number of wells likely
to be needed to achieve 70MW could be 15 versus over 30 using the
previous technology. This could save as much as $5 million for each
well drilled.
UNEP-GEF is currently in discussions with the Ministry of Water
and Environment o the Yemen to explore for geothermal there in early
2009.
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