Opportunities, challenges and future perspectives of Geothermal Energy in Ethiopia: A Review

Abstract

Ethiopia is among the East African regions with huge geothermal energy potential due to the presence of geologically active volcanic and hot spring-featured Rift Valley. However, geothermal energy is at its infant stage of utilization not only in Ethiopia but also in the continent of Africa and globally. Regionally, Kenya is the country with advanced extraction of it for electricity generation followed by Ethiopia in East Africa. Generation of electricity from this largely abundant energy resource has an enormous opportunity for societal and regional economic development though it is not an easy process due to the many challenges of the generation process. In this paper, geothermal energy in Ethiopia and the region, the opportunity, barriers with possible solutions, and future perspective are stated.