Abstract
Geothermal power is one of the safest and environment friendly energy worldwide. It has been harvested in Kenya since 1956 with most potential sites being along the Rift Valley. There are surface manifestations such as hot springs and mudpools that are visible. Different methods of exploration are usually applied, including geophysical, geochemical and geological methods. This paper highlights different geothermal exploration techniques with emphasis on low cost methods that can be used in developing countries to map geothermal potential areas highlighting methods used in Kenya. A comparable cost analysis is done for Olkaria field in Kenya which has been explored using different methodologies and the results show that ground survey methods are more expensive than remote sensing though the two methods have unique advantages. Ground data collection method is three times expensive as compared to the remote sensing methodology. It also reviews the geothermal indicators that can be mapped by remote sensing techniques, and especially those using satellite imagery. Key words: Geothermal indicators, exploration, geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing.
Highlights
Energy usage worldwide is increasing and use of alternatives such as geothermal energy is set to increase, since the world has only a finite supply of fossil fuels (Bertani, 2015; GEA, 2012).Geothermal power is one of the safest and environment friendly energy harvested in Kenya since 1956 (Omenda, 1998)
An in-depth review of the various methods that have been used in geothermal exploration has been given
The benefits of using these methods have been alluded to and the intention of the paper that of putting together in one resource the various approaches that can be used in the efficient identification of suitable sites for geothermal exploitation
Summary
Energy usage worldwide is increasing and use of alternatives such as geothermal energy is set to increase, since the world has only a finite supply of fossil fuels (Bertani, 2015; GEA, 2012). Geothermal power is one of the safest and environment friendly energy harvested in Kenya since 1956 (Omenda, 1998). Kenya has substantial renewable energy resources such as hydropower, solar, geothermal and wind, only about 18% households in Kenya are connected to the national electricity grid, and over 60% (Table 1) of the energy consumption is based on noncommercial biomass (Gloporis, 2012; Kiruja, 2011; Kiplagat et al, 2011). Kenya and Ethiopia are endowed with significant geothermal resources as part of the East African Rift System (Pürschel et al, 2013).
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