Overview of geothermal resources utilization in Ethiopia: Potentials, opportunities, and challenges

Abstract

Geothermal energy can be used to produce electricity, heat or cool buildings, and other industrial uses. It is a clean and sustainable energy source. It has generated a lot of interest recently because of its several advantages, including its less negative effects on the environment, continuous power generation, low greenhouse gas emissions, and universal accessibility. All of these contribute to geothermal energy becoming a crucial component of the world's environmentally friendly energy production. Ethiopia has access to a wide variety of renewable energy sources, including a sizable geothermal energy potential with the capacity to produce over 10,000 megawatts of electricity. The Great Rift Valley runs 1,000 km from the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden junction in the northwest to the Turkana Depression in the south, provides access to the Rift Valley's enormous geothermal energy to the nation. Only 7.3 MW of electricity are currently produced from geothermal resources in Ethiopia. Even though the usage of this resource is still in its infancy, Ethiopia has a considerable potential for it. The expansion of geothermal energy in the country is being driven by the need to diversify hydropower into other renewable energy sources, as well as an imbalance in energy demand and supply in the country. However, there are few thorough analyses of geothermal energy's potential, challenges, and technological advances. This review article provides a detailed evaluation of Ethiopia's geothermal energy potential, challenges, and future prospects. The most recent data was gathered from published papers and various types of literature. The study recommends making considerable use of nation's geothermal energy potential as alternative energy technology with minimal impact on both the environment and the socioeconomic system. The study not only revealed the country's geothermal energy potential, but also the challenges and potential solutions to the issue of expanding this energy system. Furthermore, the most effective ways for producing and utilizing geothermal energy sources were looked into, along with some perspectives based on the difficulties associated with the efficient use of geothermal energy in Ethiopia. Although this study primarily provides information about Ethiopia's geothermal energy, in our opinion it could also be helpful to other countries within the East African region.