Five African countries look to KenGen for geothermal expertise
Erastus Gichohi-KNA
Five African countries have tapped Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) expertise in geothermal exploration to assist tap and transition to green energy power use.
The move is in line with commitments to the Paris Climate Agreement (2015) which seeks to enable countries to reduce carbon emissions footprints and limit global temperatures to below 2 °C and reverse climate induced calamities.
KenGen's years of geothermal exploration has seen Kenya lead its African peers by generating 754MW of geothermal power with plans to double it to 1,500MW by 2034.
The achievement has led Tanzania, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Zambia and Eswatini to tap its expertise to accelerate their transition to green energy power sources, especially geothermal power.
According to the company’s Managing Director Eng. Peter Njenga, KenGen has been awarded exploration rights in Zambia and Tanzania while drilling is ongoing in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Eswatini.
Dr. Njenga said KenGen will deploy its technological support and decade’s old expertise to assist the individual countries transition to clean energy sources following Kenyans remarkable footsteps.
Speaking in Naivasha, Njenga said the company is on course in rehabilitation of the old Olkaria 1 Power Plant which once complete will see it increase its power generation from the current 45MW to 63MW.
"The rehabilitation of the old Olkaria 1 Power Plant is 50 per cent complete and it aims to add 18MW more to our national grid from current 45MW to 63MW by 2026," Njenga said.
Njenga said KenGen supplies 60 per cent of Kenya electricity needs every day, adding that the company is committed to expand its wings to meet the growing demand for steady power supply for households and industries.
In addition, Njenga said KenGen is seeking funding from investors to realize its 10 years’ strategic plan (2024-2035) which aims to increase green energy power generation to 1,500MW and ensure the country's energy mix is 100 per cent green.
He said with only 1,000MW of geothermal energy power being tapped out of the 10,000MW potential, KenGen will partner with other agencies including Geothermal Development Company (GDC) to explore more sources in Menengai, Suswa, and Eburru among others to achieve the ambitious targets.
The MD said the company's Green Energy Park at Olkaria in Naivasha that aims to power industrial large-scale development has attracted 10 investor bids where they access steady, more reliable, cheaper green energy to drive their operations.
He said the 342-hectare park has already been launched with the government breaking ground for the construction of a Sh100-billion data center by Konza Technopolis and Microsoft, running on 100 per cent geothermal energy.
Currently, the country's energy installed capacity stands at 1726MW consisting of 754MW of geothermal, 826MW hydro, 120MW thermal and 25 MW wind.
On the transition to tapping clean energy use and reducing carbon emissions footprints in the environment, KenGen has also started plans of changing its fuel-driven fleet to green powered ones.
According to the company's Assistant Manager for Transport, Sandis Mukhongo, KenGen has already rolled out plans to procure clean energy powered cars to run its operations to achieve a carbon free fleet in coming years.
Mukhongo said KenGen is seeking more partnerships to accelerate the establishment of vital infrastructure including electric vehicle (EVs) charging stations across the country to incentivize more Kenyans to acquire electric cars.