The Geothermal Resources Council, a California-based trade association, said Kenya ranks eighth in the world in geothermal energy production. And the country is poised to add substantially more geothermal-sourced power to its grid in the next few years, a trend noted in other countries trying to diversify their energy portfolios, and where geothermal potential exists.

The state-run Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KenGen) in February announced it wants to add 1,745 MW of geothermal generation by 2025; by comparison, the country at present has installed total power generating capacity from all types of 2,370 MW. Most of that capacity—1,631 MW, of which 533 MW is geothermal (Figure 1)—is owned and operated by KenGen. The Kenyan government has a new energy policy that directs KenGen, along with the country’s independent power producers, to eliminate fossil fuel-powered generation; the Kenya Vision 2030 energy plan pushes for the majority of the country’s electricity to come from renewable sources, at utility scale, commercial and industrial scale, and as off-grid solutions, in 2030 and beyond.

Published in Power Mag, 1st April, 2018

http://www.powermag.com/geothermal-generation-growing-by-leaps-and-bounds-in-kenya/