| Title | Potential Development of a Binary Power Plant for Chiweta Geothermal Field in Malawi |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tufwane MWAGOMBA |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | binary technology, electricity generation, pre-feasibility study, organic working fluid |
| Abstract | Malawi continues to experience insufficient electricity generation capacity as demand for electricity keeps growing. This has led to low electrification rate and low per capita consumption of electricity. As such, Malawi is in search of alternative sources of energy to complement the current predominant hydro generation. Having manifestation of geothermal in some parts of the country, geothermal energy is being considered for development to complement a diverse national energy mix. By virtue of its location in the western branch of the East African Rift System, developing of geothermal in Malawi for electricity generation can focus on utilizing binary technology, a technology which has become a preferred means of exploiting medium to low enthalpy geothermal resources around the world. Pre-feasibility study done this far has revealed that Chiweta geothermal field is promising for development in Malawi with an indicative subsurface temperature of up to 135°C at a depth of about 750m. The study further proposed an electric potential of 15 MW for Chiweta geothermal prospect using binary technology. This paper proposes a 10 MW binary power plant for a start, using the geothermal water of the field. The capacity of the power plant can be scaled depending on data from the area as power production is carried out. Technical analysis of the binary power plant has been assessed using Engineering Equations Solver (EES) software for thermodynamic properties of the fluid. Technical performance of a wet cooled basic binary is proposed for the promising Chiweta field which would generate a net power 10 MW for the national grid of Malawi. |