Geothermal Energy in Cameroon

Cameroon is another African country with energy challenges. There are conventional onshore and offshore oil and gas developments, but there is a need for more electrification to support people’s living standards, education, clean water and improved sanitation, and the economy. There are good Geothermal Energy opportunities across the country and economic, environmentally sustainable renewable energy is possible. Domestic sources of “green” electricity, able to be produced GHG emission free for 30 years at low cost per kWh are achievable. Cameroon has good geoscientists, engineers, and contractors able to support these kinds of developments.

  • The Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) is a major geological feature in Central Africa. The 1600-km long chain begins with a series of offshore volcanic islands that lead onshore to Mount Cameroon, one of Africa’s largest volcanoes that has erupted several times in the 20th century. Active fault systems around Mount Cameroon have served as magma conduits and heat pathways. The CVL continues towards northern Cameroon;
  • Significant crustal thinning (thickness ~25km) has been calculated beneath the Mount Cameroon coastal region and inland around the Garoua Rift region, both of which have high thermal flux areas. Another significant volcanic area is around Ngaoundere. There appears to be a linear mantle upwelling zone, or hotline, extending from NE to SW in the country;
  • Southern Cameroon has crystalline basement rocks (Archean Congo craton) surrounded by orogenic structures (Oubanguides Belt) with convergent related subduction resulting in the presence of partial melt-derived plutonic rock intrusions including granitoids (e.g., metacratonized as indicated by the intrusion of high-K plutonic complexes along shear zones);
  • Surface geothermal manifestations of ~130# thermal springs with surface temperatures up to 74°C have been identified along the CVL with some geochemical indications of hotter hydrothermal reservoirs below;
  • Clean, environmentally sustainable renewable Geothermal Energy is possible thanks to modern, low and medium enthalpy Binary ORC power generation solutions. Good geoscience tools are available to help incrementally explore and de-risk the areas of potentially suitable heat energy sources before more expensive drilling is required;
  • Very attractive Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCOE) is commercially feasible for many developments to help improve electrification, reduce energy poverty, and increase grid resilience across Cameroon.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.