Volcanology

MetamorphicAndpetrology
Geothermal Resource
(Geol. 3055)
(Geol.
For third 4132)
year BSc geology students
By Senay Redae Zinabu
For 4 Year BSc Geology Students
th
.
By Senay Redae
. Zinabu
.

Chapter
Chapter three
Nine
Ethiopian Geothermal Fields and
Metamorphic rock and minerals Their Nature
1
 Recall that the word “geothermal” comes from the two Greek
words ”geo” (earth) and ”therme” (heat). Geothermal energy is
heat energy from deep inside the earth.
 Geothermal resources/ geothermal energies are therefore
reservoirs of hot water that exist or are human-made at varying
temperatures and depths below the earth's surface.
 These resources are classified as a renewable resource because the
tapped heat from an active reservoir is continuously restored by
natural heat production, conduction and convection from
surrounding hotter regions.
 The extracted geothermal fluids are also replenished by natural
recharge and by injection of the depleted (cooled) fluids.
 Be mind that, heat is brought near the surface by thermal
conduction, by intrusion of molten magma and/or by
circulation of ground water to great depth.
 The temperature of the Earth increases with depth, about 25–
30˚C/km above the surface ambient temperature also called
geothermal gradient.
 At the base of the continental crust, temperatures are believed
to range from 200 to 1000°C. The temperature of the earth's
inner core is about ~6000°c, which is as hot as the surface of
the sun. Generally, the heat is transferred from the interior
towards the surface mostly by conduction.
 Temperatures in the mantle range from about 200°c near the
mantle-crust boundary to about ~4000°c near the mantle-core
boundary.
 Shallow depth geothermal resources occur due to:
Intrusion of molten rock (magma) from depth, bringing
up great quantities of heat
High surface heat flow, due to a thin crust and high
temperature gradient
Ascent of groundwater that has circulated to depths of
several kms and been heated due to the normal temperature
gradient
 Thermal blanketing or insulation of deep rocks by thick
formation of such rocks as shale whose thermal
conductivity is low and
Anomalous heating of shallow rock by decay of
radioactive elements, perhaps augmented by thermal
blanketing
 Accordingly, the rocks and water found deeper underground
have the highest temperatures. Further more, geothermal
energy sources are classified in to several basic types as;
Hydrothermal resource/ energy
Geo-pressured energy
Magma energy and
Hot dray rock energy
 All the first 3 resources/ energies are resulted from the
concentration of the earth’s heat in discrete regions of the
subsurface by geological processes.
 Hot dry rock energy, however, occurs at depths of 6 to 8 kms
everywhere beneath the surface as the result of worldwide
increase of temperature with depth in the earth. It also occurs
at shallow depths in areas of thermal enhancement due to
geological processes.
 Generally, geothermal reservoirs are naturally occurring or
man made areas/ discrete regions of hydrothermal resources.
These reservoirs are deep underground and are largely
undetectable above ground.
 More over, it is not obvious where pockets of concentrated
geothermal energy are located beneath the surface. However,
geothermal energy finds its way to the earth's surface in
different ways. As an example it comes through;
Volcanoes and fumaroles (holes in the earth where
volcanic gases are released),
Geysers and
Hot springs
 To find and access a geothermal reservoir, water or steam wells
are generally drilled to test temperatures.
 Conventional & Enhanced geothermal systems
 Deep underground, the presence of hot rocks, fluid, and
permeability offer conditions from which electricity can be
generated. To generate electric power from geothermal systems,
at least three geothermal elements are needed. These are:
Heat: Abundant heat found in rocks deep underground.

Fluid: Sufficient fluid to carry heat from the rocks to the

earth’s surface.
Permeability: Small pathways that facilitate fluid movement

through the hot rocks.

 Using natural or human-made permeability and fractures, the
fluid flows through the hot rocks, absorbing heat from the rocks
that can be drawn up through wells to Earth’s surface. This heat
energy is then converted to steam, which drives turbines that
produce electricity.
 Hence, we have two very important systems to generate
electricity from the stored geothermal resource. These are;
Conventional hydrothermal system and

Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS)

 Conventional hydrothermal system is a system used when a

geothermal resource naturally contain all the three geothermal
elements (i. e heat, fluid & permeability).
 This is obviously applied if an electricity want to generate from
hydrothermal resource where all the three geothermal elements
are naturally occurred within underground.
 Sometimes these conditions do not exist naturally. For instance,
the rocks are hot, but they lack permeability or sufficient fluid
flow.
 During this time, Enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) is used
human-made reservoirs to create the proper conditions for
electricity generation by injecting fluid into the hot rocks.
 This creates new fractures and opens existing ones to enhance
the size and connectivity of fluid pathways.
 Once this engineered reservoir is created, fluid can be injected
into the subsurface and then drawn up through a production
well to generate electricity using the same processes as a
conventional hydrothermal system.
 Where do these geothermal resources found?
 The most active geothermal resources and generally most
geothermal regions are usually found along major tectonic plate
boundaries where most volcanoes or volcanic activities are
located. This is particularly in:
Rift (spreading) zones
Subduction (convergent) zones and
Mantle plumes (hot spots).
 One of the most active geothermal areas in the world is called
the Ring of Fire, which encircles the Pacific Ocean.
 When magma comes near the earth's surface, it heats ground
water trapped in porous rock or water running along
fractured rock surfaces and faults.
 Temperature of geothermal resources
 Wells having different deep can be drilled into these
underground reservoirs to tap steam and very hot water that can
be brought to the surface for use in a variety of applications.
 Accordingly, the use of the geothermal energy in the different
applications is predominately dependent on the geothermal
source temperature and the temperatures vary between wide
ranges (50–500 °C). According to these temperatures, these
sources are classified as;
High temperature (>180°C)

Medium temperature (100 - 180°C) and


 High-temperature fields (>180°C) are geothermal fields where

volcanic activity takes place mainly along so-called plate

boundaries. These plate boundaries are characterized by intense
faulting and seismic and in many cases volcanic activity.
 Geothermal fields are very common at plate boundaries, as the

crust is highly fractured and thus permeable to water, and other

sources of heat. Example are;
‘Ring of fire’ that surrounds the Pacific Ocean

Iceland, which is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

East African Rift Valley and

‘Hot spots’ such as Hawaii and Yellowstone.

 Low and medium temperature fields (< 180°C) are geothermal
resources unrelated to volcanoes can be divided into four types:
Resources related to deep circulation of meteoric water
along faults and fractures
Resources in deep high-permeability rocks at hydrostatic
pressure
Resources in high-porosity rocks at pressures greatly in
excess of hydrostatic (i.e. ‘geopressured’)
Resources in hot but dry (low-porosity) rock formations.
 Applications of geothermal resource
 Be mind that the use of the geothermal energy in the different
applications is predominately dependent on the geothermal
source temperature. For example, resources with;
 Temperatures above 150°C are used in electricity production.
More over, temperature around 95°C are also used to generate
electricity using binary cycle power plants.
 Temperatures between 90 and 30°C are utilized in food
processing, greenhouse heating, and aquaculture and these are
grouped under direct use.
 Temperatures below 30°C are exploited in the geothermal heat

pumps application and soil warming.

 Based on the temperature of the source, some applications of
geothermal energy use the earth's temperatures near the
surface and others require drilling miles into the earth.
 Generally, there are three main applications of geothermal
energy systems. These are;
Electric power generation (indirect use) where the
temperature of the resource must be above 150°c
Direct use and district heating systems where the
temperature range from 20°c to 150°c and
Geothermal heat pumps (direct use) where the
temperature is between 10°c &15°c
 Indirect use (power generation)
 Geothermal energy can be found all over the world and from

this energy electric power is generated by using steam to turn a

turbine-generator set to produce electricity. However, how
feasible its utilization is, depends on the;
 Depth of the resource, Temperature found, Geological

settings, Resource type, Closeness to energy demand etc.

 Hence, to produce electric power, the temperature of

the geothermal source should be higher than 150°c excluding the

binary cycles which can operate at a geothermal source
temperature of 95°c.
 Using natural or human-made permeability and fractures, the
fluid flows through the hot rocks, absorbing heat from the
rocks that can be drawn up through wells to Earth’s surface.
 A vapour-dominated (dry steam) resource can be used directly,
whereas a hot-water resource needs to be flashed by reducing
the pressure to produce steam. Some plants use double and
triple flash to improve the efficiency.
 To do this, deep wells (production and injection wells) are
usually drilled, and steam from reservoirs at a depth of 3–5 km
are used for operating steam turbines to generate electricity.
 That heat energy is then converted to steam, which drives turbines

that produce electricity. Increasing the well depth has a

significant effect on increasing the source temperature.
Nevertheless, in specific areas such as Iceland drilling very
deep is not necessarily.
 Direct use
 The International Geothermal Association (IGA) defines

geothermal direct (non-electric) use as utilizing the energy

of the earth (geothermal heat) directly as heat for heating
and cooling instead of converting the energy (indirect heat
use) for electric power generation.
 This is to mean that it refers to the immediate use of the heat

energy rather than to its conversion to some other form of

energy such as electrical energy. In general, the geothermal
fluid temperatures required for direct heat use are lower
 Most direct use applications can be applied for geothermal

fluids in the low to moderate temperature range (i.e. 20 –

150°C). The primary forms or major areas of direct utilization
are:
Swimming, bathing and balneology (therapeutic use)
Space heating and cooling including district heating
Agriculture applications (mainly greenhouse heating and
some animal husbandry)
Aquaculture uses (mainly fish pond and raceway heating),
Industrial processes, and
Heat pumps (for both heating and cooling).
 Geothermal direct use applications use wells usually deeper
than those for heat pumps to draw hot water from the
subsurface to directly provide hot water to buildings, space
heating, or heat for industrial processes ranging from fish
farming and greenhouses to drying pulp, paper, lumber, and
other materials.
 Geothermal heat pumps
 Although air temperatures above ground change throughout
the day and with the seasons, temperatures of the earth 10 feet
below ground are consistently between 10°c and 15°c.
 This means soil temperatures are usually warmer than the air
in winter and cooler than the air in summer. Geothermal heat
pumps or Ground-source heat pumps (GHPs) use the earth's
constant temperature to heat and cool buildings.
 Geothermal heat pump technologies are a subset of direct use
and it transfer heat from the ground (or water) into buildings
during the winter and reverse the process in the summer.
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 Heated and cooled air produced by a GHP (ground source heat
pump) system is delivered through the house’s ductwork in the
same manner as conventional systems.
 A box called an air handler includes an indoor coil and fan that
circulates house air through the heat pump for heating or
cooling. Similar to a standard air conditioner, the air handler
has a large blower and filter. There are three basic parts to a
GHP system:
The geothermal connection
The heat pump, and
The heat distribution system
 The geothermal connection is a system of pipes (the “loop”) that
in most systems are buried either horizontally or vertically
underground near the connected building.
 Finally, the geothermal heat distribution system is generally
made up of conventional ductwork to carry heated or cooled
air within a building.
 There are two main types of ground source geothermal
systems: open-loop systems and closed-loop systems. Closed
loop systems can be further divided into horizontal, vertical, or
water-based installations
 Production of geothermal energy by Country
 Only naturally occurring hot water & steam from
hydrothermal resources is being utilized for power generation
economically. Exploitation of other types of resources/
energies still requires technological advancements for techno-
economic viability.
 Actually, people have used geothermal energy for over 10,000
years with the first recorded use when Paleo-Indians settled
around hot springs and used them as a source for warmth,
cleansing, and healing.
 More advanced geothermal technology, such as geothermal
heat pumps, have been used to heat and cool buildings since
the late 1940s.
 The factors that most influence the applications of geothermal
energy are accessibility, water or steam temperatures, and
geothermal reservoir permeability and porosity.
 Currently, 30 countries utilize geothermal energy to produce
electricity and the top countries today represent around
93% of the total installed geothermal power generation
capacity of 16,335 MW (Status as of year-end 2023, source
Think GeoEnergy).
 There are five countries that belong to the GW club with a
geothermal power generation capacity of 1,000 MW or more.
The Top 10 list of countries with geothermal power
generation capacity.
# Country Capacity (MWe)
1 United States 3,900
2 Indonesia 2,418
3 Philippines 1,952
4 Turkey 1,691
5 New Zealand 1,042
6 Kenya 985
7 Mexico 976
8 Italy 916
9 Iceland 754
10 Japan 576
Today, there are roughly 400 geothermal power plants (often
consisting of several units/ plants) and they can be found all
around the world.
 Traditionally, direct use of geothermal energy has been on small
scale by individuals. More recent developments involve large-
scale projects, such as
District heating (Iceland and France)
Greenhouse complexes (Hungary and Russia), or
Major industrial use (New Zealand and U.S).

 Today, geothermal is mostly used for heating baths and

swimming pools, as well as for space and greenhouse heating.

Other applications are industrial uses utilizing heat,
aquaculture pond heating, agricultural drying, cooling and
snow melting.
 Particularly, the use of geothermal energy for heating of
swimming pools and heating for buildings (space heating) has
grown in recent years.
 Here a geographical overview over the heat production by
year through geothermal direct use (excluding heat pumps)
 Today, 88 countries are currently utilizing geothermal energy
for direct use applications including ground-source heat
pumps. The estimated total installed thermal generation
capacity is about 107,727 MW thermal. Top 10 Geothermal
Countries Direct Use (installed capacity) 2020
 Geothermal Resources in Ethiopia
 Regarding tepography, Ethiopia has varying features. It has a
high central plateau that varies from 1,290 to 3,000m above sea
level, with the highest mountain reaching 4,533m.

 Elevation is generally highest just before the point of descent to

the Great Rift Valley, which splits the plateau diagonally. A
number of rivers cross the plateau notably the Blue Nile rising
from Lake Tana.

 The plateau gradually slopes to the lowlands of the Sudan on the

west and the Somali-inhabited plains to the east. Therefore,
Ethiopia has abundant natural renewable and nonrenewable
resources controlled by this land features.
 These includes land, minerals (Gold, copper, potash, platinum
etc.), hydropower potential, solar and geothermal, as well
fossil fuels etc.
 It is obvious that Earth's history started ~ 4.6 billion years ago
and the oldest rocks on Earth so far are dated about 4.0 billion
years old. But the oldest recorded rocks in Ethiopia are only
about 1.1 billion years old.

 Ethiopia underlies enormous succession of rocks representing

a long geologic history starting from the Precambrian up to
the present.
 These successions are shaped and exposed by continuous
geomorphologic and structural activities and which are also
still active, resulting in a wide range of landforms.
 The geological makeup of Ethiopia is so diverse that all major

types of rocks are outcropped on the surface in one or the

other part of the country.
 The geologic history of Ethiopia can be divided into four major

geologic eras (time) and represented by distinct geological

processes which are resulting d/t rock assemblages. These are:
Precambrian products
c ts
Palaeozoic products du
ro
o i cp
Mesozoic products and z
e ro
a n
Cenozoic products Ph
 In summery as shown on the above maps,
Rocks of Precambrian age underlie large parts of
northern and western Ethiopia and smaller areas in the
south and east of the country.
Voluminous piles of mainly Cenozoic volcanic rocks
occur in large parts of western Ethiopia. Mesozoic and
Cenozoic sediments occupy the eastern part of the
country.
The rift valley is covered with relatively young
lacustrine sediments and volcanics.
 Hence, Ethiopia is among the few countries in Africa with
a significant amount of geothermal resources.
 These resources are found and scattered throughout the;
 Main Ethiopian Rift valley and
 Afar Depression
 Both are part of the Great East African Rift System.
 The Ethiopian rift extends from the Ethiopia-Kenya
border to the Red Sea in a NNE direction for over 1000
km within Ethiopia, and covers an area of 150,000 km2
(see Fig. bellow).
 Great east African
Rift Valley

Main Ethiopian Rift

valley and Afar
Depression
 Hawii Iceland
 Currently it is in active state (43-  Active state
52ma) and Trending NW to SE.  Formed around 65-83ma
 Located in pacific plate trending SW-NE
 Its plate motion is 9.2cm/yr  Located at Antarctic mid ocean
 Thin basaltic lava flow  1.6 cm/yr (plate motion)
 Different types of pyroclastic rock  Temperature ranges from 1600
 Tempreture range from 1020C/km to 2400C/km
to1320C/km  A potential of 4300MWe
 Have a potential for 1400MWe
Similarities
Ethiopian rift system  All located at tectonically active
 Active in its current state areas and all are characterized by
 Formed around 31ma shield volcano type
 Trending NNE & NE to SW  All found at divergent plate
 Located in African plate boundaries and lies on earth
mainly EAR motion fault line
 Plate motion 3cm/yr  Frequent Earth quake occurrence
 Have Basaltic eruption and all have Surface
manifestations
 A potential of 780-1000MWe
 Consideration of available Energy Supply:
 The diversification of energy sources is essential in order to ensure a

sustainable energy supply. The development of geothermal power

would do the following:
 Help to substitute imported fossil fuel
 Provide a major backup to an uncertain hydropower
supply, that relies highly on seasonal fluctuations.
 Serve the arid and semi-arid areas of the country where
hydropower is unavailable and, finally,
 Contribute to the UNFCCC effort to reduce global
warming.
 Historical Background
 Ethiopia launched a long-term geothermal exploration
undertaking in 1969.
 About 16 geothermal prospects are judged as having
potential for electricity generation. A much larger number are
capable of being developed for applications in agriculture,
agro-industry etc.
 This is during the early to mid-1980s when exploration
drilling was carried out at the Aluto-Langano geothermal
field.
 During the early 1990s, exploration drilling was also carried
out at Tendaho. The identified “geothermal prospect areas”
are widespread throughout the whole Ethiopian rift valley.
 Prominent among the geothermal prospect areas are:
 Lakes District
 Aluto-Langano, Corbetti, and Abaya;
 Southern Afar
 Tulu-Moye, Gedemsa, Dofan, Fantale, Meteka,
Teo, Danab;
 Northern Afar
 Tendaho and Dallol (Danakil Depression).
 The more advanced prospects, including
exploration drilling:
 Only two prospect areas have been subjected to exploration
drilling to date. These are:
 The Aluto-Langano geothermal field
 The Tendaho geothermal field
 The Aluto-Langano
 The Aluto-Langano geothermal field is located on the floor of
the Ethiopian Rift Valley about 200 km south east of Addis
Ababa (see the above Figure).
 Eight deep exploratory wells were drilled to a maximum
depth of 2500 m between 1981 and 1985, of which four are
potentially productive.
 The maximum reservoir temperature encountered in the
productive wells is about 350ºC.
 The Tendaho geothermal field
 Geothermal exploration was carried out in the Tendaho
area with economic and technical support from Italy
between 1979 and 1980.
 Between 1993 and 1998, three deep (2100 m maximum)
and three shallow (500 m) exploration wells were drilled
and yielded a temperature of over 270ºC. (See the figure
shown bellow)
 Geo
at & therm
a
Eth aroun l pote
i op n
ian d the tial
r i ft
 Prospects where detailed
investigations have been carried out at the:
 Corbetti geothermal prospect area
 Abaya geothermal prospect area
 Tulu Moye - Gedemsa geothermal
 Dofan geothermal prospect area
 Fantale geothermal prospect area
 The Corbetti geothermal prospect area
 The Corbetti geothermal prospect area is located about 250
km south of Addis Ababa.
 Corbetti is a silicic volcano system within a 12-km-wide
caldera that contains widespread thermal activity, such as
fumaroles and steam vents.
 Detailed geological, geochemical and geophysical
investigations conducted in the Corbetti area indicate the
presence of potential geothermal reservoirs with
temperatures exceeding 250°C.
 The Abaya geothermal prospect area
 It exhibits a widespread thermal activity mainly characterized by
hot springs, fumaroles and altered ground.
 Spring temperatures are as high as 96°C with a high flow rate.
 Integrated geoscientific studies (geology, geochemistry, and
geophysics) have identified the existence of a potential
geothermal reservoir with temperatures exceeding 260°C (Ayele
et al., 2002).
 The Tulu Moye – Gedemsa geothermal
prospect area
 The area is characterized by volcanism dating from Recent
(0.8–0.08 Ma) to historical times.
 During 1998-2000, integrated geological, geochemical and
geophysical studies, including shallow temperature-gradient
surveys (150-200 m):
 Confirmed the existence of potential geothermal reservoirs with
temperatures of about 200°C (Ayele et al., 2002) and delineated
target areas for further deep exploration wells
 The Dofan geothermal prospect area
 Dofan geothermal prospect show that the area is
characterized by a complex volcanic edifice that erupted a
considerable volume of pantelleritic lava from numerous
eruptive centers between 0.5-0.2 Ma (Cherinet and
Gebreegziabhier, 1983).
 The estimated reservoir temperature of Dofan geot. is
200°C
 The Fantale geothermal prospect area
 The Fantale geothermal prospect is characterized by:
 Recent summit caldera collapse
 Felsic lava extrusions on the caldera floor and
 Widespread fumarolic activity, suggesting thereby the
existence of a shallow magma chamber.

Prospects at reconnaissance level are:

 The Kone, Meteka, Danab, Teo and Abhe geothermal prospects
 Current geothermal activities and perspectives
 The on-going geothermal activities of the Geological Survey of

Ethiopia are:
 Detailed geoscientific studies (geophysics & geology)

and monitoring (geochemistry and reservoir engineering)

of the Tendaho geothermal field (Dubti);
 Report compilation of detailed geological mapping,
geochemical and geophysical studies of the Southern
Afar area (e.g. Dofan and Fantale, etc.);
 Assisting EEPCo in the rehabilitation programme of the
Aluto geothermal pilot power plant.
 Future plans for geothermal resources
 Future geothermal exploration and development programmers
will take into consideration the logistic and socio-economic
framework of each prospect.
 Therefore, each prospect is qualified with respect to the
probability of having an economically viable geothermal
resource.
 In addition to the Aluto-Langano and Tendaho geothermal fields,
the following is a list of prospects in order of their level of
exploration:
 Detailed investigation  Reconnaissance Study at:
(Completed) at:  Kone
 Corbetti  Meteka
 Tulu-Moye  Danab
 Abaya  Teo and
 Dofan and  Abhe.
 Fantale
 Consequently, the government’s plan for the next five years
includes:
 Rehabilitation of the Aluto-Langano geothermal pilot
plant;
 Work progress at Tendaho to bring it nearer to
development;and
 Completion of the detailed exploration works at two
more geothermal prospects.
 Expansion of Gases Present Inside the Earth
into the Atmosphere:
 Inside the earth surface, there are various harmful gases are
present. While establishing the thermal power plant gases
like Boron, Methane, Ammonia, Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen
Sulphide may get spread into the earth atmosphere.

 However, the amount of gas released is significantly lower

than in the case of fossil fuels.

67
 Evolution of rifting
 Ethiopia lies at the northern tip of the continental part of the East
African Rift System.
 Tertiary rifting in Ethiopia was preceded by emplacement of
voluminous flood basalts that apparently occurred in a rather short
time interval at around 30 Ma.
 Strong plateau uplift, which resulted in the development of the
Ethiopian and Somalian plateaus now surrounding the rift valley,
initiated contemporaneously or shortly after the extensive flood
basalt volcanism.
 Occurrence of voluminous volcanism and uplift prior to the main
rifting phases has been used as an argument to suggest a mantle
plume influence on the Tertiary deformation in East Africa.
 Recent plume models indicate the existence of a deep superplume
structure originating at the core-mantle boundary beneath southern
Africa, rising in a north-northeastward direction toward eastern
Africa, and feeding multiple plume stems in the upper mantle.