East Africa set for geothermal power expansion: U.N.

East Africa is poised for expansion in geothermal power capacity next year to meet growing demand in the world's poorest continent, the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) said Tuesday.

A U.N.-backed project testing new seismic and drilling technology in Kenya has proved that geothermal is a viable and cost effective source of power that has the potential to produce 7,000 megawatts in Africa, officials said.

"It's part of Africa's future," Achim Steiner, UNEP executive director told a news conference on the sidelines of a December 1-12 U.N. conference on fighting global warming."

Geothermal is 100 percent indigenous, environmentally-friendly and a technology that has been underutilized for too long," he added.

Geothermal power comes from steam made from underground water heated by the Earth's core, which is in turn used to turn turbines.

The nearly $1 million project in the geologically active Great Rift Valley that runs through Kenya, has helped identify new drilling sites with production capacity of 4-5 MW from 2 MW generated from old wells.

It could mean a saving of as much as $75 million for the developer of a 70 MW installation as well as reduced electricity costs for consumers, the UNEP said in a statement.

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Source: Reuters