Japan promises continued support for Kenya geothermal development
45 MW Olkaria I geothermal power plant, Kenya (source: bgr.bund.de)
Alexander Richter
6 Jun 2012
Japanese International Cooperation Agency promises continues support of Kenya's geothermal development project having already financed loans of up to $380 million for Olkaria I and IV.
At a visit to Kenya, the president of Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has promised that his agency will continue to back Kenya’s efforts to harness its geothermal potential.
“Already JICA has signed a 29.5 billion Yen($380 million) loan agreement with Kengen for the Olkaria I and IV power plants. The money will be for the expansion of the Olkaria I to enable it supply 140MW to the national grid as the demand for power in the country continues to soar. Tanaka said this is the first such project to be supported by a Climate Change Japanese loan in sub-Saharan Africa.
He urged all countries to work together and initiate strategies to mitigate the effects of global climate change. “Various countries across the world including Japan have started to feel the effects of the climate change,” he said. He said the effects of the tsunami that hit Japan early last year are still being felt adding that the damage of the Fukushima nuclear plant has affected power production in the country. Tanaka said Japan is likely to suffer a power crisis in summer when demand for power is at its peak. “We expect a power crisis in Japan over summer and it’s time we emulated Kenya in terms of geothermal use,” he said.
Source: All Africa
