| |
|
 |
East
Africa set for geothermal power expansion: UN
|
 |
| |
 POZNAN,
Poland(December 11,2008) - East
Africa is poised for expansion in geothermal power capacity next year
to meet growing demand in the world's poorest continent, the U.N.
Environment Programme (UNEP) said on Tuesday.
A U.N.-backed project testing new seismic and drilling technology
in Kenya has proved that geothermal is a viable and cost effective
source of power that has the potential to produce 7,000 megawatts
in Africa, officials said.
"It's part of Africa's future," Achim Steiner, UNEP executive
director told a news conference on the sidelines of a Dec. 1-12 U.N.
conference on fighting global warming.
"Geothermal is 100 percent indigenous, environmentally-friendly
and a technology that has been underutilised for too long," he
added.
Geothermal power comes from steam made from underground water heated
by the Earth's core, which is in turn used to turn turbines.
The nearly $1 million project in the geologically active Great Rift
Valley that runs through Kenya, has helped identify new drilling sites
with production capacity of 4-5 MW from 2 MW generated from old wells.
It could mean a saving of as much as $75 million for the developer
of a 70 MW installation as well as reduced electricity costs for consumers,
the UNEP said in a statement.
The project is set to expand to Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda
and Tanzania in 2009 by using the equipment and techniques piloted
in Kenya and underwriting the risks of drilling, it said.
The total funding of nearly $18 million is provided by the Global
Environment Facility and the World Bank.
The potential in Kenya alone is estimated at 4,000 MW compared with
its current capacity of about 1,000 MW, Steiner said. Kenya gets 60
percent of its electricity from dams, 30 percent is fuel generated
and the rest from geothermal.
By proving that geothermal power is economically viable, the Kenyan
project has created incentives to attract private companies and reach
the country's full potential, Steiner said.
Many African countries, including economic powerhouse South Africa,
face serious supply challenges which have caused power outages from
Senegal to Tanzania.
The U.N.'s Climate Panel says geothermal energy could provide 2 percent
of total global energy production by 2030 from less than 0.4 percent
in 2004.
The number of countries using geothermal power worldwide is estimated
to increase to nearly 50 by 2010 from 20 in 2000. |
| |
|
