The French Development Bank (AFD) will loan Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company (GDC) nearly $70 million for the purchase of two additional rigs, rig ancillary equipment, and staff training for the Menengai project.
The GDC began drilling for geothermal steam in Menengai in January. GDC Managing Director Dr. Silas Simiyu said, “The Menengai geothermal field has a capacity of 1,600 MW. The Menengai project is a Vision 2030 flagship project. In the 1st Phase GDC is developing 400 MW by 2015. The 1st discovery well is already complete with a capacity of 10 MW. The second well is almost complete and the drilling of the third well is underway. GDC will drill 120 wells in Menengai under phase one.”
In the East African country’s Vision 2030 plan, Kenya is aiming to increase its power generation to 15,000 MW and the GDC will develop 5 GW of this from geothermal sources. “In total the Menengai project requires $818 million, out of which $687 million has been received in form of commitments and pledges. We however still have a deficit of $131 million,” Simiyu said. The GDC executive urged the AFD to consider further $100 million in financing. The financier has also injected a grant of about $43 million for Kenyan banks and renewable energy financing.
Shoring up Kenya’s electricity generation is a priority for the government, and the country recently announced that it would increase power tariffs by 20% over the next three years to help meet the financial constraints of new power plant construction and transmission lines.
Alternative Energy Africa is trying to reduce its own carbon footprint in 2011. Ask about our electronic subscriptions and online marketing campaigns specially tailored for individual companies.