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KenGen seeks to double geothermal capacity by 2030

KenGen seeks to double geothermal capacity by 2030 OLK02 wellhead plant of GEG at Olkaria in Kenya (source: Green Energy Geothermal)
Alexander Richter 29 Jul 2021

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is seeking to double its geothermal capacity by 682 MW in the coming years.

Already indicated as part of plans for a large fundraising, KenGen is now getting more concrete on its geothermal development plans, as reported by Bloomberg and Business Daily.

Over the past few years, KenGen has increased its effort on shaping its geothermal business beyond geothermal power generation, now also providing drilling services, among others in Rwanda, Ethiopia and Djibouti, and is now in talks with Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo for geothermal work.

“It’s going to be exciting to see that capacity transferred to other countries and a chance to replicate the business,” says Marit Brommer, Executive Director of the International Geothermal Association, the key geothermal industry association.

As part of a call for geothermal consultants KenGen also announced it wants to set up new geothermal power plants with a combined power generation capacity of 682 MW in the next four years that would nearly double the company’s current installed capacity of 713.13 MW (Kenya’s total installed capacity is 861 MW as of today). KenGen is expected to bring the 83.3 MW Olkaria I Unit 6, currently under construction, online later this year.

The company says the planned plants are in line with its geothermal expansion program that will see it achieve its targeted installed power generation capacity— mostly from green sources— to 2,500 MW by 2025.

As part of the articles, it is also reported that Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is now targeting a completion of the three private geothermal power plant projects in Menengai (3×35 MW for a total of 105 MW) in 2023.

Source: Bloomberg, Business Daily