The Solomon Islands are a Western Tropical Pacific archipelago of 21# major islands and almost 1,000 smaller islands scattered across 1500 km, located to the northeast of Australia and east of PNG.
As a result of having to rely on expensive, imported diesel for power generation, electricity on the Solomon Islands is some of the most expensive electricity in the world right now. Solomon Islands needs better, domestic access to energy and affordable energy will support economic development.
The capital of Honiara has a population of ~85,000 with a developed economy but adversely affected by the high price of electricity. The island of Guadalcanal has an additional distributed population of ~80,000. With an overall country population of ~720,000, it has been estimated that less than 20% of the population are connected to an electrical grid which means people may have challenges with Energy Poverty and Affordability.
Savo Island is a volcanic island located about 15km offshore from the capital Honiara. This island is classified as an active volcanic island due to the presence of surface manifestations (i.e., hot springs, fumaroles, and gas emissions). The last eruptions were in the mid 1800’s and the last large scale eruption was in mid 1400’s. From the presence of these surface manifestations, it was apparent that subsurface hydrothermal reservoirs exist that might be able to be utilised to produce clean, renewable energy in the form of geothermal electricity.
Geology
The Solomon Islands formed along the converging Indo-Australian and Pacific Plates. Prior geological studies observed that the complex tectonic evolution of this region has resulted in two stages of arc development and has influenced the magmatic character of these island arc volcanoes. The formation of Savo Island occurred during the most recent phase of arc volcanism. Savo Island is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano that was formed over a significant period of time, rising up from the seabed through the water column until it pierced the water surface and formed the island visible today.
The volcanic deposits are dominated by sodic, alkaline lavas and pyroclastic rocks.
Project
The proposed Savo Island Geothermal Project will have several project phases including some of the activities listed below (but not limited to this selection):
Exploration
o Detailed technical studies and simulation and analytical models
o Surface surveys (topography, bathymetry, updated drilling location and flowline route surveys)
o Appraisal Wells (shallow boreholes/slim hole wells, production/injection testing)
o Development ESIA (development drilling, construction and installation of power generation facilities and transmission line facilities)
o Front End Engineering Design (FEED)
Development
o Updated technical studies and simulation and analytical models
o Development Wells (larger diameter production wells and potential repurposed/modified slim hole wells)
o Facilities engineering, analyses and designs
o Fabrication and construction of infrastructure, equipment, flowlines
o Pre-commissioning and Commissioning / Start-up
Operations
o Safety and control systems monitoring
o Well testing and monitoring
o Flowline inspections and maintenance
o Production facilities inspections and maintenance