Kenya Tags Geothermal to End its Energy Woes

In an effort to meet its soaring power demands, Kenya is turning toward geothermal energy to boost its energy production. Currently the country’s power capacity is 1,080 MW and with a demand of 1,000 MW, growth will put Kenya’s power capacity in the red. The country is expected to see its power demand increase by 8% per year: to meet that demand the government is betting on geothermal. President Mwai Kibaki announced in late-June a new plan to produce an extra 2,000 MW in the next decade, with 85% of the surge coming from geothermal plants.

The government has experts and engineers inspecting the area around Lake Naivasha and discussing drilling plans. The Lake Naivasha region is a geothermal hotspot with the Olkaria plant presently supplying power for the region.

"We have exploited our entire hydro-electric potential. Because of deforestation and the resulting erosion of the ground, the dams get clogged up with silt. It’s a serious problem," Silas Simiyu, one of the top experts in charge at Olkaria told Fin 24. "Because geothermal energy is our only indigenous source of energy, we’re going for it. We can supply Kenya’s entire needs with geothermal alone," he says.

Kenya is estimated to have at least 3,000 MW of geothermal energy; however the major drawback in taking advantage of the asset is the initial size of the investment required to kick off development. A megawatt of geothermal-produced electricity costs around $3 million. The French Development Agency (AFD) is supporting Kenya’s geothermal ambitions with preferential loans, while other funding will come from donations.

"We’re at a real turning point in Kenya," said Jean-Pierre Marcelli, who heads the East Africa section of the AFD. "It’s a choice between a clean energy policy with low carbon emissions and the path of fossil energy, which may be more simple and require less investments but is infinitely more polluting," he explained. The Kenyan authorities are aware that opting for geothermal projects at a time when greening the world’s economies and industries is high on the global agenda will earn it foreign backing.