Management and Development Issues of Geothermal Energy in the Western Branch of the African Rift System

Abstract

In additional to the Virunga active volcanoes Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira, Eastern side of the DRC has more than 136 hot springs including the MAYI YA MOTO (Latitude S00°53’54.4’’, Longitude E029°21’06.9’’, Altitude 953 m) in Virunga National park at Rwindi with the highest vapor temperature around 92° Centigrade. The Rift System encompassing geothermal resources is very active; the seismic activity is very abundant. Violent earthquakes that occur in the region have a significant impact on the faults that litter the rift. The focal mechanism of the earthquakes would have an impact on the behavior of hot springs in the region. This geodynamics of the rift is a major obstacle/issue on the development of the research on geothermal in certain areas of study. Thus, a seismology, geodesy, climatology, hydrogeology, geomagnetism, geochemistry monitoring network has to be implemented and/or improved in the region along the western branch of the African Rift System to clearly identify the areas likely to exploitation of geothermal energy. These studies, when conducted, allow to develop a realistic mapping of the geothermal potential of the western branch of the Rift.