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Existing and Future trends in geothermal energy in Ethiopia

By Bereket Gebru  10/11/13

The major objective of the energy sector, as stated in the Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP), during the existing 5 year Growth and Transformation Plan period (GTP) and beyond is to meet the demand for energy in the country by providing sufficient and reliable power supply that meets international standards at all times. This objective will be achieved by accelerating and completing the construction of hydroelectric power and other renewable energy generation projects, expanding and strengthening the existing transmission and distribution lines to provide improved access to rural villages all over the country. An additional objective is to export power to the neighboring countries. Modernizing the distribution system will also be considered, so as to reduce power losses to international benchmark levels.

Future demand for energy is, expectedly, projected to grow exponentially. As a result of the double digit economic growth of the last decade and the considerable population surge, Ethiopia has been experiencing increased energy consumption and unmet demand over the last few years. In the Climate-Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) initiative that has been launched in Ethiopia and also during the COP17 Meeting in Durban, South Africa, a demand forecast has been prepared. The forecast is based on GDP data, sectoral energy consumption intensities, and projections of the potential for increasing energy efficiency. Accordingly, total power demand is projected to grow from 4 TWh in 2010 to a maximum of nearly 70 TWh in 2030. The steep increase in demand (14% per annum) reflects both the growing electrification of the country – the target for 2020 is to expand access to grid connection to nearly 100% of the country (measured in area coverage) – and rapid growth of electricity-intensive industries – projected at a rate of more than 15% a year, outpacing even the overall GDP growth rate. When specific energy efficiency measures are factored into the forecast the demand requirement will be limited to 50 TWh in 2030, which still represents a more than tenfold increase over today’s demand.

 

The development of major hydro-electric power generation projects in the country has taken up the centre stage of all the efforts to keep up with this tremendous projected surge in demand. Diversifying the sources of energy and exploiting the potentials of every energy source should also be given the due attention they deserve. Development of alternative energy from renewable sources such as wind, geothermal, solar, biomass as well as energy efficiency measures will be a key part of Ethiopia’s energy mix and integrated with the country’s new Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) Strategy, which has the ambitious objective of transforming Ethiopia into climate resilient green economy by 2025. The development of renewable energy resources, therefore, helps contribute to the availability of more consumable energy in the country besides aiding the realization of the country’s goal of becoming a carbon-neutral economy by 2025. 

Some of the renewable energy related goals of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) include:- increasing households supplied with at least one kind of modern, efficient and renewable energy source/technology from 16% to 80%, electrifying more than 1,500 towns and villages, disseminating more than 3 million solar lanterns and 9 million efficient cook stoves with the assistance of development partners like AfDB, WB and others.

 

Harnessing renewable energy from various sources clearly paves the way for the realization of some of the renewable energy related goals. Out of the 10,000 MW of electricity planned to be generated by the end of the GTP period (2015), 9,000 MW is expected from hydro power while wind, geothermal and solar energy contribute 890, 75 and 30 MWs respectively.

 

Geothermal energy is a renewable energy source that taps heat stored in the earth to drive turbines that generate power. The resource is much more reliable than other renewable resources (hydro, wind and solar) as it is not affected by seasonality. Experts in the field contend that geothermal power plants also need less space than hydropower and wind energy plants, fewer people need to be displaced by their construction, which strengthens the case for the sustainability and feasibility of geothermal power. Accordingly, there have been various activities towards harnessing the resource in Ethiopia for a long time now.

Studies at various exploration phases have been carried out since 1969. Although these studies have indicated the country’s great geothermal energy potential, financial constraints and the lack of skilled manpower have stood in the way of realizing that potential. The development of geothermal resources involves drilling up to three kilometers of the earth’s crust. That is both very expensive and technologically difficult. Compounded with the shortage of qualified personnel in the field, some sources indicate, it is more costly to produce electricity from geothermal sources than from hydro and wind – although geothermal energy is cheaper to produce than solar energy in Ethiopia. The technology is also credited for being easily scalable and can generate electricity from very small units up to very large ones, enabling it to be used under various circumstances.

Under a program that began in 1969, geo-scientific studies have been conducted in a number of Ethiopian fields and over sixteen areas have been identified to have geothermal resources suitable for electricity generation in the Ethiopian Rift Valley. From these areas deep drilling has been undertaken in Aluto Langano and Tendaho and detailed surface exploration has been nearly completed in four other areas. The rest ten areas are at a first stage of surface exploration. The six candidate geothermal power projects for investment in our country are:-

 

1.    Aluto Langano power plant (75mw)

2.    Tendaho (100mw)

3.    Corbeti (75mw)

4.    Abaya (100mw)

5.    Tulu Moye (40mw)

6.    Dofan (50mw)

 

The total power generated from the six candidate power projects is projected to be 440mw. The Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP) states that geothermal power will help to diversify the Ethiopian energy mix and provide valuable base load capacity at low cost and with limited environmental impact. It is estimated that some 5,000 MW of resources are available, and the Government is seeking to develop 1,000 MW of this by 2030.

 

Sadly, it was only in 2012 that the country started to generate the first 7.3 mw from the pilot project of the Aluto Langano power plant which is being upgraded to a full scale project of 75 mw. Despite the notably high geothermal energy production potential of Ethiopia, the country currently produces only 7.3 MW of electricity from the renewable energy resource. With upgrading activities scheduled for completion over the Aluto-Langano geothermal power project that produces the 7.3 MW by the end of the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) in 2015, the figure is expected to grow to 75 MW. That figure, however, still stands negligible when compared to the 5,000 MW generating potential of the country. In Ethiopia’s defense though, a lot is in the pipelines to change the situation and tap from that huge potential.  

 

The plans for the Aluto Langano expansion project are two pronged with the first concentrating on upgrading the capacity to 75mw with a projected cost of 229.2 million during the 2012-16 period. The other section of the plan deals with the design of a long-term strategy for the geothermal sector. The SREP document states that it will be important to explore and understand the options, including what has worked and why, and then outline a path forward for the country as Ethiopia considers how to expand its geothermal capacity beyond the 75 mw at Aluto Langano. This route involves the development of a sector strategy that focuses on clearly defining options for how geothermal assets can be developed, including leveraging the private sector strategically as a source of expertise, project management, equipment supplying and investment and financing. Furthermore, the plan emphasizes the need to ensure that future projects are bankable and that requisite business skills are built in relevant institutions.

 

The Tendaho Geothermal Field, on the other hand, is located in Dubti Wereda (district), Afar region in the Northeast part of Ethiopia, around 600 kilometers from Addis Ababa. The project is tipped of having a capacity of 100mw with a projected project cost of about 320 million USD. The Tendaho power plant is set to be commissioned in 2016.

 

The biggest step in the sector yet, not only for Ethiopia but also for the whole of Africa as well, comes in the form of the 1,000 MW geothermal power plant set to be built in the coming ten years. The U.S-Icelandic geothermal development company, Reykjavik Geothermal (RG) has agreed to develop the renewable resource in Corbetti Caldera. Upon completion, the single power plant project is expected to be one of the world’s largest geothermal power plants.       

Reykjavik Geothermal, a company that has helped build power plants in about 30 countries globally expects to invest $4 billion over an 8-10 years period. The geothermal development company will build and operate up to 1000Megawatts of geothermal in two 500MW phases. While the first 10MW of power will be online in 2015 with an additional 100MW in 2016; the full 500MW will be operational in 2018. Ethiopian Electric Power Corp. has agreed to buy all the electricity under a 25-year contract. It has been working with Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) and various government ministries for the past two years to finalize the purchase agreement.

The responsible authorities in the field, EEPCo and the Ministry of Mines and energy, state that the main task they are undertaking nowadays is making the potential sites for geothermal energy development ready for investment. The direction taken by the authorities is that the big money needed to carry out such projects cannot be covered by the government alone – the introduction of private sector investment would help us reap the benefits much sooner. As clearly put by Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn “The job cannot be done by public investment alone; we will need to partner with private sector… from that perspective, this 1,000 MW deal with RG is not that large – but it’s a great start.”

In this sector, the government’s main plan is to create conducive environment for private investors to participate in exploring and developing the mineral resources by gathering, compiling and interpreting basic geo-science information to deliver to the customers. Geo-science data has enormous importance for agriculture, urbanization, industrial development, construction, energy and other undertakings. By increasing the coverage and quality of geo-science data and availing it to potential customers, exploration and development of geothermal resources can be accelerated. Besides providing information by conducting detail mineral exploration and investigation, it also designs policies, laws and new regulations that create conductive environment for the development of the sector.

Accordingly, the Ministry of mines and energy has plans to enhance pre-deep well drilling geothermal detail study coverage at a scale of 1:20,000 from 6.2% in 2009 to 68.2% in 2015. It also aims at raising geothermal drilling from 10,000m in 2009/10 to 20,000m per year by 2015.

Considering Ethiopia has tremendous geothermal power generation potential from its Afar and Great East African Rift Valleys, there needs more to be done to make the best out of it. Further considering Kenya, with much less geothermal resources, produces 300 MW from geothermal sources, Ethiopia needs to push itself to the limits to realize its potential.

As so eloquently put by Prime Minister “Africa (Ethiopia in our context) needs to transform and energy is at the center of that transformation. My vision is that over the next 30 years, we will need to harness as much as 80,000MW of hydro, geothermal, wind and solar power, not just for Ethiopia, but for our neighbouring countries as well. “This cannot be done by public investment alone; we will need to partner with private sectors…from that perspective, this 1000MW with RG is not that large- but it’s a great start,” Desalegn added. The PM conluded by stating that what “Africa needs now is not just aid but trade and investment.”

Cognizant of this fact, the government of Ethiopia has been carrying out activities of economic diplomacy with state, private and international actors. The Japanese, Icelandic and U.S governments are the most notable of the state actors while Reykjavik Geothermal (RG) and the British company Cluff Geothermal constitute partnership with the private sector. The World Bank (WB) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are the most notable of the international organizations working with the Ethiopian government. Strengthened relations with the above stated international actors and further new ventures with others in the future promise a much better time for enhanced performance in the sector.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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