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Cape Verde Islands targeting renewable energy future, geothermal one option

Cape Verde Islands targeting renewable energy future, geothermal one option Fogo Island, Cape Verde (source: flickr/ F Mira, creative commons)
Alexander Richter 9 Nov 2017

Cape Verde, a volcanic island group off the northwest coast of Africa, is planning its energy future fuelled by renewable energy, with geothermal energy being one option.

Recent news report on the ambitious goal of Cap Verde, an island group in the Atlantic off the northwest coast of Western Africa, to derive all its energy from renewable energy sources by 2025.

As part of its “Sustainable Energy for all” agenda, it is looking to provide renewable energy-fueled electricity to all its 550,000 residents. With a per capita electricity consumption of 727 kWh per person, still around one-third of its population depend on firewood and coal for cooking, as reported by The Independent.

With an expected growth in demand to double what it is now over the next few years, the plans come at an appropriate time. While researchers suggest a system based on solar, wind and energy storage, geothermal energy is also an option.

The article by the Independent provides a great overview on the challenges and options faced for this group of islands.

It seems though that there is only limited research done on the geothermal potential and one report talks highlights the potential for a specific area on Fogo Island, as discussed in a paper by Caranova, R., Silva R.P. of Gesto Energy/ Portugal – “Geothermal resource assessment in volcanic islands – Fogo Island, Cape Verde“.

Source: Independent