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UNION DES COMORES

Strategy for Geothermal Power Development

IRENA- Martinique Conference22-24 June, 2015

Houmadi NAOILDINE, Directeur du Bureau GéologiqueDouglas Casson COUTTS, UNDP/UN Resident Coordinator (former – now retired)

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GovernmentUnion of the Comoros – independence, 1975

Recognized by the UN and AU as formed by 4 islandsi.e. Mayotte, Anjouan, Mohéli and Grande Comore

Federal Constitutional democracy - based in Moroni (member of AU, Arab League, la Francophonie)

President Dr. Ikililou Dhoinine - elected in May 2011

Each island has a democratically-elected local government

4EconomyPopulation - 750,000 (another 40 % in France)

GDP - US$ 600 million

GDP per capita - $ 800.

Major exports - vanilla, cloves and essential oils from ylang-ylang

Tourism and fishing are in development; economy based on diaspora remittances

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• Small Island Country (SIDS) • Main energy source: Wood 66% and fuel(oil) 34%• Small scale electricity production (less than 15MW

power plant)• Base cost of power generation - 285 FC/kwh

( US$0.85/ Kwh)• 76% of the costs of generation are due to diesel fuel

costs – little cost recovery by local utility. • High Price of Electricity: current tariff is 132FC/kWh

(US$0.35/kWh)• Damage to environment due to use of wood as

main energy source for communities

General context - energy sector

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• Small scale diesel generation is at high cost

• Power companies cannot achieve financial stability which is not sustainable also for the economy

• Energy issues have led the government to seriously consider geothermal energy as a sustainable response to the energy needs in the medium and long term.

General context - energy sector

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• basic cost of geothermal generation for a 20 MW plant - US$ 0.10 to 0.15 per kWh

• Geothermal generation is better suited to providing a base-load

• Diesel generation provides system stability

• Strong commitment of Gov't with AU and UN engagement, major incentive to potential partners

Strategy - Geothermal Power Development

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• Key indicator - potentially exploitable geothermal system is the presence of a rift system associated with an active volcano

• First assessment, carried out in 2008 as part of a geophysical survey has revealed that a great active geothermal system is present

Strategy - Geothermal Power Development

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Identified geothermal system

Main crater

WHERE/LOCATION ?

MT Survey

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Pent up Demand - A list of key issues would include consideration of the following:

• Current load demands, and daily demand variation, to determine what level of geothermal base load generation could practically be considered in a first stage development

• Given an estimate of a potential geothermal power plant size determine the likely cost of geothermal generation at this scale

Strategy - Geothermal Power Development

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• The economic benefits of substitute the use of imported fuels with geothermal energy

• Identification of the costs of the next stages of exploration and drilling in particular

• Determining potential sources of financing for these next phases – raising funding for the scientific and exploratory drilling phases is a key challenge in most geothermal developments (which lend themselves to a public sector focus given the risks involved)

Strategy - Geothermal Power Development

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• Reviewing current and considering new legislation - public and/or private participation, in particular resource ownership and development

• Requirements for project staffing, and local capacity building, plus infrastructure, roads, etc.

• Potential social issues such as land ownership, access, and public education about the project

• Political sensitivities – other islands; renewable non-geothermal options (Clinton Foundation)

Strategy - Geothermal Power Development

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Comparative Advantage - each partner brings specific contribution & expertise

• Government of Comoros, sovereign owner - institutional and legal framework; Geological Bureau as technical operator of the project

• UNDP Comoros, mobilizing partners, facilitator• NZ Government – adoption of Comoros, technical

expertise through companies, i.e. Jacobs, GNS, etc.• African Union, through Geothermal Risk Mitigation

Facility (GRMF), Financial contribution

Partnership Strategy

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Brief history

Year Activities carried out

April 2008 Geophysical studies (5MT) and geochemical

May 2013 Elaboration of the Strategy for the Development of Geothermal Energy

October 2013 Application GRMF project – Comoros and NZ with UNDP

January 2014 NZ Hosted-Roundtable Discussion with potential geothermal project partners in Abu Dhabi: ADB, IDB, the AU, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the UAE and the Clinton Foundation

September 2014 Full application of the detailed project for the African Union

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Brief history

Date Activities Status

Geological mapping, delineation of the study area Done

Proposal stations (MT Stations) for Geophysical studies Done

Main site access Done

Sept 2014 Awareness activities with local communities at the geothermal site

Done

Oct-Nov 2014 Scouting / line cutting by local crew. Setting up Karthala base camp with all logistics

Done

Oct-Nov 2014 Geological and Geochemical surveys Done

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Ongoing activities

MT (magnetotellurique) Surveys : 80 Gravity measurements: 300 Construction of road infrastructure Construction of a water storage

reservoir Drilling exploration.

17On-going activities

Geological mapping of the study area, MT Station and location of access

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Time lineEXPLORATION DEVELOPPEMENT PRODUCTION

Surface Exploration

By geophysical methods. Identification and characterization of the reservoir

Drilling Exploratory and evaluation of reservoir capacity

Production wells. Study, design, manufacture and installation of electromechanical equipment for geothermal plant

Exploitation

1 year 2 years 1.5 years

The surface exploration and drilling phase requires public funding due to the high risk of high fruitless search. Private investment is expected once the development phase has successfully produced results and a positive outcome

19Project Co-ordination system

Government of Comoros (GoC)

UNDP: Leadership of Geothermal Donor Coordination

Exploration Steering CommitteeChair: GoC

Members: Bureau de Géologie, DGME, DGEF, MaMwe, UNDP, MFAT, NZ, TechnicalAssistance ((NZAT), UA

Project Implementation Unit

Project Manager (NZ TA)•Procurement•Management of TA•Quality assurance•Reporting

Geophysics specialists

(NZ TA)Support staff

(NZ TA)

Geoscience specialists

(NZ TA)

Implementation funding from third parties will pass through UNDP.

Implementation funding from third parties will pass through UNDP.

UNDP support:•Coordination•Administration•Logistics

Bureau de Géologie :•Technical & Admin Staff•Site access•In-country resources

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• Martinique Plan of Action (MAP) – SIDS Lighthouse Initiative – to include Comoros

• Developing geothermal energy in SIDS like Comoros aim at general sustainable development and also at economic, social and ecological specific issues

• Without a stable source of power, no development

Goal - Geothermal Power Development

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Marhaba Mengui –

Merci