The Aluto–Langano Geothermal Power Station, also known as Aluto Langano Geothermal Power Station, is the only
geothermal power
Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...
station in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
Location
The facility is located within the dormant Aluto volcano, a volcanic complex of the Ethiopian Rift valley trending NNW–SSE with several craters up to 1 km wide, between
Lake Langano
Lake Langano ( Oromo: ''Hora Langaanoo'', Amharic: ላንጋኖ ሐይቅ) is a lake in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia, exactly 200 kilometers by road south of the capital, Addis Ababa, on the border between the East Shewa Zone and Arsi Zones. It i ...
and
Ziway
Batu ( om, Baatuu), formerly Zway or Ziway, The site is approximately , by road, south of
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
, the largest city and capital of Ethiopia. The geographical coordinates of this power station in the
Oromia Region
Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa.
It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...
The Aluto—Langano geothermal field at the dormant Aluto volcano covers an area of about and is considered to be capable of generating up to of electric power. It features temperatures in excess of 300 °C in a high-temperature up-flow dome at a minimum subsurface depth of around 1200 meters. The geothermal field and its characteristics like stratigraphy, geochemistry and hydrothermal behavior are relatively well explored.
The Aluto—Langano Geothermal Power Station (dubbed ''Aluto–Langano I'') is the oldest geothermal power station in Ethiopia, established in 1998 with a nameplate capacity of and a net power generation capacity of . In 1998, the power station was considered a pilot plant to explore the features of the Aluto–Langano geothermal field, it used four of the eight drilled wells. It is still the only geothermal power station in Ethiopia 20 years later on in 2018.
Two small wells (LA-3 & LA-6) deliver high pressure high temperature steam from areas of high temperatures in excess of 300 °C to a conventional
combined cycle
A combined cycle power plant is an assembly of heat engines that work in tandem from the same source of heat, converting it into mechanical energy. On land, when used to make electricity the most common type is called a combined cycle gas turb ...
steam turbine, while the non-condensed exhaust steam and mid-temperature mid-pressure steam from two other small wells (LA-4 & LA-8) drive a bottoming combined cycle steam turbine. Both turbines were considered to deliver around each. A re-injection well (LA-7) exists as well.
Several events (in particular corrosion, but also hydrothermal blockages, leakages, lack of operation knowledge of the plant personnel) led to several drops in the power generation capabilities several times between 1998 and 2018, followed by extensive repairs and rehabilitation works addressing in particular corrosion damages. The pilot power plant was out of operation for most of its existence. For most of the operating time, only the conventional combined cycle unit was operational (with only the two wells LA-3 & LA-6 operating). In 2018, the Aluto—Langano Geothermal Power Station was able to generate less than of electric power and is essentially mothballed.
Expansion / replacement works (dubbed ''Aluto—Langano II'') started in 2013 and delivered two more high-temperature wells in excess of 300 °C (LA-9D & LA-10D). Future works (from the viewpoint of 2018) are set to expand the total generating capacity of the geothermal field to ~ by re-using the existing wells and by drilling another 8 large production-ready wells. New power generating units, which are able to withstand the corrosive steam, have to be installed as well.
The Aluto—Langano Geothermal Power Station is one of three grid-ready geothermal power stations in the country in different phases of operation or construction, the other two are the ~ '' Corbetti Geothermal Power Station'' (exploration phase) and the '' Tulu Moye Geothermal Power Station'' (exploration phase), also with a capacity of ~500 megawatts.
History
First exploration works started in 1981. The feasibility studies for this power station were conducted in 1986. The report concluded that the area could support a commercially viable geothermal power station. In 1998, a geothermal power station was erected to prove the production ability of the geothermal field, with 7.3 MWe net capacity.
One of the two power generation turbines went out of operation already in December 1999, the second one stopped working in 2001. Rehabilitation works put the conventional combined cycle steam turbine back into operation by 2007 and the bottoming combined cycle steam turbine back into operation in 2009, but the effective power generation capacity of both turbines was reduced to ~ 5 MWe. Ageing contributed to a decrease of power output again and in 2018, less than 1 MWe was generated. The second turbine is essentially decommissioned and the power plant almost out-of-operation.
Currently, the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines & Energy is in the process of expanding the plant. The
International Development Association
The International Development Association (IDA) (french: link=no, Association internationale de développement) is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world's poorest developing countries. Th ...
has committed to lend US$126 million of the projected total cost of US$218 million. In March 2018, the EEP advertised for a contractor for the project. The selected company is expected to provide two geothermal drilling rigs and accessories, rig operations and maintenance for drilling geothermal wells along with all the accessories, heavy machinery, trucks and vehicles. In February 2019, EPP contracted
Kenya Electricity Generating Company
Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...
to drill steam wells.
Ownership
Aluto—Langano Power Station is owned by ''Ethiopia Electric Power'' (EEP), the national electricity monopoly.
See also
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List of power stations in Ethiopia
This page lists power stations in Ethiopia, both integrated with the national power grid but also isolated ones. Due to the quickly developing demand for electricity in Ethiopia, operational power plants are listed as well as those under constructi ...