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Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen), the leading power generating company in East Africa has begun the process of raising USD 4.2 billion to facilitate their decade-long energy plan involving pumping an extra 1.5 GW into the Kenya national grid. Various participants have already committed to funding a 300 MW geothermal project as part of the multi-billion project.
The German government promised to support Kenya in expertise through exploiting solar and geothermal energy in the country. The German Climate and economy minister Dr Robert Habeck recently spoke at the German-African Business Summit of investors during a tour of Olkaria in Naivasha. The area is geothermal-rich, located 90 kilometres west of the country’s capital city. The tour of Olkaria brought about conversations surrounding potential investment into geothermal projects.
Dr Habeck praised Kenya over its commitment to the production of clean green energy amid the climate change crisis. He also challenged the government not to neglect investment in more solar and geothermal projects to meet the rising electricity demand. Germany is committed to supporting Kenya in the production of green energy and the country has very high potential in geothermal and solar. It offers immense opportunities for German companies, especially in future-oriented sectors such as the digital economy and the expansion of renewable energy generation, and transition technologies, said the minister.
In 2023, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz visited a geothermal power plant in Kenya and commented that Germany should take Kenya as an inspiration to intensify its geothermal power activities.
In October this year, construction broke ground on a 35 MW geothermal plant in Menengai, Nakuru. The project, undertaken by OrPower Twenty-Two (OrPower 22) will be completed by mid-2026. It is part of a Build-Own-Operate scheme and is owned by Kaishan Group, a Chinese-based company. For USD 90 million, the project will complete the first phase of development of the 105-MW installed capacity on the Menengai geothermal field.
A second geothermal power plant has already begun construction by Globeleq. Furthermore, the first power plant started operations in 2023 under Sosian. Exploration, drilling, and construction of steam gathering facilities at the Menengai steam field were managed by state-owned GDC, who will also be selling the steam to the three Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
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The geothermal energy potential in Kenya stands at over 10,000 MW (10 GW) and continues to tap as electricity demand continues to rise,” said Peter Njenga, KenGen CEO. He also pointed out that the demand for electricity in the country is on the rise. This has brought about the need to increase production as more investors seek opportunities in the country. Out of the 1.5 GW of energy aimed to be produced over the next ten years, 800 MW is expected to come from geothermal
