Ethiopia Launches Geothermal Power Project

CleanTechnica has a post on Ethiopias plans to harness large scale wind and geothermal power - Africa at the Energy Crossroads: Ethiopia Launches 6 Wind, 1 Geothermal Power Project.

Ethiopia isn’t a country that comes up often when discussing renewable energy, but the Ethiopian Electric Power Coroporation (EEPCO) this past week announced it’s starting construction of six wind power projects and one geothermal power plant. In total, electricity generation capacity for the renewable energy projects totals more than one gigawatt (1 GW), Ethtiopian news service NewsDire reported.

The renewable energy projects are part of EEPCO’s plans to increase national electricity generation capacity five times by 2015, from a current 2000 megawatts (MW) to about 10,000 MW. Increasing electricity generation, in turn, is key to the government’s broader economic development plans.

Ethiopia’s considers itself a “powerhouse of Africa.” Comprising three climate zones, it ranks second in Africa in terms of hydropower potential, after the Democratic Republic of Congo, and exports significant amounts of electricity to its East African neighbors. Ethiopia’s Water and Energy Minister in March announced a plan to add 5,250 MW of electricity generating capacity by building the Grand Millennium Dam of Ethiopia, which would dam the Nile River near the border with Sudan.

EEPCO views wind power as a clean energy complement to its hydropower generating capacity. Ethiopia has substantial wind power resources. Wind power potential in the East African country totals some 10,000 MW, EEPCO has estimated, which has noted that wind energy is higher in the dry season, when hydropower resources are at their lowest.

The six wind power projects announced this past week include the 300 MW Aysha Wind Farm near the Djibouti border, the 100 MW Debre Birhan Wind Farm north of Addis Ababa, the 100 MW Assela Wind Power Project southeast of the capital, and the 153 MW Adama II Wind Power Project. Also slated to start construction are the 250 MW Galema I Wind Power project 42 MW Mesebo Harena Wind Farm and the 42 MW Mesebo Harena Wind Farm.

Ethiopia’s electric utility also intends to start construction of the 70 MW Aluto Langano Geo Thermal project. Rich in geothermal resources, the East African Rift Zone runs through eastern Ethiopia, though the country has thus far been much less active in exploiting it than has neighboring Kenya, which in September announced its intention to generate 30% of its electricity needs from geothermal resources by 2030.

Adelaide Now has an update on Petratherms geothermal project at Paralana - Hot rocks leader plans third well.

PETRATHERM wants to differentiate itself from other geothermal explorers as it moves toward becoming a working electricity supplier.

Announcing an upgraded resource statement for the flagship Paralana project, Petratherm managing director Terry Kallis said yesterday the company had the right projects, partners and people to deliver results soonest.

After tests, Paralanas potential has been independently assessed, recording an inaugural "measured" resource and with almost half of the total 38,000 petajoules resource moving into the higher confidence "indicated" bracket from the "inferred" category.

The upgrade was a major step forward for Petratherm and partners Beach Energy and TRUenergy, Mr Kallis said.

"It is estimated we have enough geothermal resource potential for about 1300 megawatts of power generation for 30 years, which equates to more than one-third of South Australias power use," he said.

The SMH has a report on geothermal power project planned for Victoria - Geothermal plant wins state backing.

A GEOTHERMAL energy project near Geelong has landed a $25 million state government grant to help develop a 12-megawatt pilot power plant. Greenearth Energy, which secured the money yesterday, says its plans for the demonstration plant could power up to 8000 homes.

The grant follows two years of negotiations with both Labor and Coalition governments to secure the funds under the states Energy Technology Innovation Strategy, first promised in 2009. The first $5 million will go towards drilling a four-kilometre deep well to test the geothermal resource at one of the companys exploration sites. Greenearth holds exploration licences for Gherang, Wensleydale and Anglesea, and a preferred site will be announced in three months.

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Crippled Kashagan oil project a bureaucratic nightmare

I was over in Perth late last year and it was interesting to see how the end of the mining (construction) boom is impacting on the locals. The engineering types are in austerity mode while the technology folk are much less affected - with a new focus on "efficiency projects to try and squeeze more value from the massive investments made over the past decade.

Oil and gas services work has dried up to the point where one friend was forced to start looking at opportunities offshore (after following his once 120 person team into redundancy). He noted that the pay available elsewhere is far less than most Perth engineers have become accustomed too, and was considering heading to Kazahkstan for his next job.

Kashagan remains one of the larger projects underway worldwide - Reuters report that its not progressing all that well - Crippled Kashagan oil project a bureaucratic nightmare.

Giant Kazakh oilfield Kashagan, which was brought to a halt by leaks shortly after start-up last year, is grappling with a bureaucratic "nightmare" on top of its engineering troubles as it strives for commercial production in 2014.

The scale and complexity of the worlds most expensive standalone oil project led its seven partners away from the traditional single operator command-and-control model, where one of the larger companies takes charge while the others provide support and share the risks, costs and rewards. ...

The Caspian Sea project aims to exploit the biggest oil discovery in decades, producing a peak of 1.66 million barrels a day - as much oil as OPEC member Angola, from a reserve almost as big as Brazils. Much of it is built on artificial islands to avoid damage from pack ice in a shallow sea that freezes for five months a year in temperatures that drop below minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22F).

The field extends over 3,375 square kilometres (1,303 sq miles), and the whole onshore and offshore site is bigger still. The oil is 4,200 metres (4,590 yards) below the seabed, at very high pressure, and the associated gas reaching the surface is mixed with some of the highest concentrations of toxic, metal-eating hydrogen sulphide (H2S) ever encountered.

Kashagan has cost an estimated $50 billion so far, five times early projections, and its 13-year life is a tale mostly of delay.

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Oceanlinx moving forward with wave power project in South Australia

The ABC reports that wave power company Oceanlinx is moving forward with a project off South Australia, with construction due to be complete by the end of the year - Oceanlinx applies for licence to generate electricity using ocean waves off south-east coast of South Australia.

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) has received the first application in South Australia for a licence to generate electricity using the energy of ocean waves. The application has been lodged by New South Wales-based company Oceanlinx. A generator is being built off the coast from Port MacDonnell in the south-east of South Australia and all energy generated would be sold to electricity suppliers.

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Scottish Government gives go ahead to world’s largest tidal power project

Energy Efficiency News has a post on a tidal power project in Scotland - Scottish Government gives go ahead to world’s largest tidal power project.

The Scottish Government has given the go ahead to what will be the world’s largest tidal stream energy array to date in the Sound of Islay.

The £40 million ScottishPower Renewables development of underwater turbines will have a capacity of 10 MW, generating enough electricity to power around 5000 homes and eight local distilleries and maltings.

“With around a quarter of Europe’s potential tidal energy resource and a tenth of the wave capacity, Scotland’s seas have unrivalled potential to generate green energy, create new, low carbon jobs, and bring billions of pounds of investment,” commented Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney in a statement yesterday.

He said that ScottishPower Renewables, which is owned by Spanish power giant Iberdrola Renovables, will work with the Islay Energy Trust to maximise local social and economic benefits.

Local Scottish businesses are also set to benefit, with £4 million in contracts to make the turbines, with a test prototype being manufactured at Burntisland Fabrication’s (BiFab) facility in Arnish.

BiFab has a £2 million contract to build turbines for the ten 1 MW HS1000 devices to be used in the Islay project, which are being developed by Hammerfest Strøm, a joint venture between Scottish Power Renewables and Norwegian energy companies.

A prototype of the HS1000 device has been generating electricity in Norwegian waters for six years and the company is currently constructing the first commercial-scale device for testing in Scottish waters off Orkney later in the year.

Scotland is one of the leaders in tidal development, with world’s first commercial wave and tidal leasing round already underway for the Pentland Firth, which could ultimately produce some 1600 MW of marine energy.

“[The] announcement moves the whole marine renewables industry forward in Scotland and the UK,” says Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower Renewables. “The understanding we develop from Islay will be essential in delivering the larger planned projects in the Pentland Firth.”

The testing of the HS1000 later this year in Orkney will determine the rollout of the devices in Islay, but ScottishPower Renewables expects to start work on the project next year and start installation between 2013 and 2015.

New Zealand is also looking to develop some large scale tidal power - Kaipara tide turbine plan gets Govt green light.

A $600 million proposal to create New Zealands first tide-driven power station in the Kaipara Harbour has been approved by Government despite concerns it could kill off fish stocks and threaten critically endangered Maui dolphin.

Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson this morning signed off the staged installation of 200 tidal turbines near the mouth of the harbour by Crest Energy.

Local fisherman, Te Uri O Hau Settlement Trust and the Department of Conservation had opposed the plan, arguing it could reduce west coast snapper stocks, threaten the environment of the pristine harbour and impact Maui dolphin numbers.

But Ms Wilkinson backed an Environment Court ruling approving the station on the condition it started with only three turbines and conducted two years of environmental monitoring.

If fully implemented, it is estimated the development could generate enough electricity to power the area from Aucklands North Shore to Cape Reinga, she said.

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