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Kenya steps up its 1,300MW electricity plan

Sunday October 23 2011

Kenya has stepped up plans to produce over 1,300MW of geothermal power in the next seven years to stem its overreliance on hydro and thermal sources of energy.

Through its main power generator Kengen, Kenya has drawn an ambitious plan that targets production of more than half of its total power from geothermal sources by 2018 and, in the process, phase out its longtime dependence on thermal power and the not-so-reliable hydro and wind power.

“The company is deliberately pursuing a green energy strategy to cushion Kenyans from weather-induced power shortages and high power prices associated with the rising global oil prices, while assuring availability of adequate electric power for development” said Kengen managing director Eddy Njoroge.

The company has earmarked a total 3,189MW to the national grid over the period, a challenge that requires expansion of geothermal plants and building of new ones and also investing more in wind and hydro power.

Geothermal sources will contribute 49 per cent (about 1,500MW) with dependence on thermal electricity significantly dropping.

The power firm has begun implementation of a 280MW geothermal project comprising an extra 140MW plant at Olkaria I and a new 140MW Olkaria IV project.
“The target is to deliver reliable clean energy to Kenyans,” said Paul Wambugu, Kengen’s leader of transformation strategy.

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Currently the country survives on a total of 1,611MW according to statistics availed by Kengen with the company supplying 1,195MW, private generators contributing 347MW, Emergency Power Producers (EPPs) 60MW and the Rural Electrification programme supplying 9MW.

Kenya’s plans follow Uganda’s similar power production objectives that aim to raise dependence on renewable energy in the next five years.

The country through its Renewable Energy Policy says it is “diversifying the energy supply sources and technologies in the country and particularly aims at increasing the use of modern renewable energy from the current 4% to 61% of the total energy consumption by the year 2017.”

However, before Kenya achieves this dream it has to surmount an array of challenges among them the need to build more geothermal power plants, a venture demanding millions of dollars. According to Mr Wambugu a power plant that produces one megawatt costs $4 million to build.

Kengen aims at contributing significantly to the required additional 1300MW, considering that currently the listed company produces approximately 155MW of the country’s total 200MW. With this in mind, the company needs about $5billion if it is to solely meet the megawatts shortage.

“We need investors, and government policies that will be attractive to them, so the country can reach this level,” Mr Wambugu said.

Private producers of geothermal power would play a big role in contributing to the megawatts shortfall as the lead generator might find the going tough considering that the Kenyan government still has a bigger say in the company registered at Nairobi Stock Exchange.

Electrical Officer with Ormat Technologies, a private geothermal power producer with its power plants in Olkaria, Mr Kenneth Nyaga, said it is possible for the country to wholly depend on geothermal power especially because “it is renewable and not dangerous to the environment.”

Geothermal power has been identified as the power of the future, with many African countries putting up plans to fully exploit this environment friendly source of energy. Last month Kenya was praised during the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility (ARGeo) member countries for making a noticeable “transition to a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy.”

During the ARGeo meeting which exploited ways of extracting more geothermal power in the East African Rift region, Kenya was used as a “Geothermal success story”, a feat that boosts the country’s latest endeavours in pushing to firm its status as the region’s leading geothermal power producer.

Kengen was contracted by the Rwanda government to find out its geothermal potential. It found out that the country had a potential of 700MW and its tapping started last August.

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