| Abstract |
Djibouti is a small country located in East Africa in the area where the Gulf of Aden meets wits the Read Sea. It is hence a strategic place between Africa and Arabia with neighbors like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Yemen. For Ethiopia Djibouti is presently the only access to the sea and the port of Djibouti is developing very fast, as well as the lines of communication between the two countries (roads, railways, electricity line…). The current population of the Djibouti Republic is estimated to be about 850 000, of which about 600 000 live in the main town of Djibouti-Ville, 95 000 in secondary towns and the remainder, 155 000, in a rural setting, including a substantial nomadic population. The country’s electrification rate is about 50 per cent. Electricité de Djibouti (EdD), the national state-owned utility under Ministry of Energy in charge of Natural Resources (MERN), reports about 45 000 electricity connections. Demand in Djibouti-Ville area is currently supplied from two main power stations: Boulaos has an installed capacity of 100.3 MW and comprises 15 medium speed diesel generating units operating on heavy fuel oil. The Marabout power station has an installed capacity of 18 MW, with 6 medium speed diesel generating units operating on diesel oil is used only in summer (demand peak). The Ethiopia-Djibouti interconnector entered in operation in May 2011 and provides an additional electricity source, based on renewable (hydro), ranging from 180 to 300GWh per year, i.e. allowing to cover nearly half and up to two-third of the demand. Forecasts of future demand have been developed; in the base case, the peak annual demand is expected to increase from 75 MW in 2010 to 138 MW in 2015 and 219 MW in 2035. This provides an idea of a minimum target for geothermal energy development. The main objective of the geothermal development program of the Ministry in charge of Energy is: 1. To develop a site located in a favorable situation in order to answer the present needs of Djibouti-Ville, i.e. a target of 50 MWe 2. To explore the country’s overall geothermal resource in order to answer the needs of other consumption centers and 3. To prove commercially exportable geothermal reserves for future developments of broader interest. The presence of geothermal resource in Djibouti has been known for more than 40 years and efforts were carried by various teams towards exploration and possible development of suitable sites, but without commercial success yet. Geothermal exploration therefore remains an important step for the Republic, towards self-dependency in the production electric power and climate change mitigation. |