Abstract
Countries that are in the Great Rift Valley have one of the lowest average annual electricity consumption per capita in Africa with a value of 164 kWh per inhabitant. Furthermore, the electrification rate is 34% that is more than fifty percentage points below the world average, which is around 86%. One possible solution to improve the electrification rate is to properly exploit the energy resources present in the territory. One of the most significant energy sources of this region is certainly geothermal energy which has a potential of about 15 GWe, mostly concentrated in Ethiopia. Furthermore, it is possible to find the resource in a wide temperature range, not only to produce electricity, which, nonetheless, has a very limited exploitation rate, as only 900 MWe are installed between Kenya and Ethiopia, but also for direct use. In this study, two geothermal power plants for two different geothermal sites, Corbetti and Arus-Bogoria, respectively in Ethiopia and Kenya, have been hypothesized after analyzing the resource potential. For the first, which has been estimated to be of high enthalpy (~300°C), a flash plant configuration was assumed, and the estimated energy production potential was found to be around 50-100 MWe. While for the second, at medium enthalpy (T<200°C), the use of a binary cycle plant was assumed with an obtained production of about 20 MW of electricity. Finally, the possibility of geothermal water exploitation for greenhouse heating, drying of agricultural products, civil sanitary uses, recreational uses (spa), or for industrial purposes has been assessed.
Highlights
Africa has many available energy resources, but a lack of adequate capacity and knowledge limits their use and exploitation
The countries that lie along the tectonic trench and host geothermal resources are Burundi, Comoros, Congo (DRC), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia
The aim of this research was to understand how geothermal resources are distributed, to analyze the population density and energy demand of the countries located in the Great Rift Valley, and to suggest a possible way of development and exploitation
Summary
The second site analyzed was Arus-Bogoria in Kenya. The site is in the south-central part of the country, a widely populated and energy-intensive area. The peculiarity of geothermal energy is that if the heat source is not hot enough to produce electricity, it is possible to use geothermal fluid directly and exploit its heat in other systems. An even more efficient solution is to use the fluid leaving the power plant and exploit that heat for other purposes. At Olkaria and Eburru, it is possible to use brine heat like a by-product of the geothermal power plant to provide hot water for residential houses and hotels. The energy that can be obtained, in addition to the production of electricity, is in the form of heat and certainly, there is already a large market for this type of exploitation like industrial activities, agricultural, and other human use
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
