Open-Source Geothermal Training Course for U.S.-East Africa Geothermal Partnership

摘要

Geothermal energy development beyond US borders appears to be accelerating, but underdeveloped nations still lack access to educational opportunities that provide the skills needed to transform potential resources into baseload electricity or used in direct heat applications. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and leading members of the U.S. geothermal industry and academic communities have developed a technical geothermal course for use in the USAID-funded U.S.-East Africa Geothermal Partnership (EAGP) capacity building program, which is now in the public domain. The EAGP capacity building program provides in-country classroom instruction for East African geoscientists and engineers in most aspects of geothermal project planning, development and implementation. It covers initial exploration methods and analysis, drilling and reservoir engineering, project management and financing strategies, power plant design, database management, and environmental and regulatory issues. This paper describes the program and its implementation for Kenya's Geothermal Development Company (GDC) from 2013 to 2014. We suggest that an on-going effort be made to continue adding to this open-source training course in order to provide training to U.S. students and international audiences on critical facets of geothermal energy.