GEOTHERMAL ENERGY IN KENYA

Introduction
Geothermal energy is power derived from the heat generated and stored in the earths crust. This
thermal energy is found in rocks and fluid beneath the earths surface; with occurrence varying
from shallow ground to several kilometers deep. It is a renewable resource that can be harnessed
for electricity generation or for direct heating applications.
Kenya, which was the first African country to exploit its geothermal resources, currently has a
geothermal installed capacity of 212MW. This resource is however still underutilized, when
compared to the total estimated power of over 7,000MW.
The Government of Kenya through the Vision 2030 project aims to increase the geothermal
installed capacity to 1,500MW by 2020 and consequently to 4,000MW by the year 2030. For this
to be achieved, 1,000 wells will have to be drilled and 30 power generating stations set-up, each
producing at least 140MW, at a cost in excess of 16 Billion USD.

Potential Sites
High temperature geothermal prospects within the country are spread over the Kenya Rift,
traversing from the South to the North. The rift is a volcano-tectonic feature and as a result, most
of the potential sites are characterized by large shield volcanoes occurring in the axis of the rift.
These potential sites (in Fig.1) are listed below:

Suswa
Longonot
Olkaria
Eburru
Menengai
Arus & Lake Bogoria
Lake Baringo
Korosi
Paka
Silali
Emuruangogolak
Barrier Complex

Figure 1: Geothermal Potential Sites (Kenya)

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Current Status
As it stands, only the Olkaria field is being exploited for geothermal energy production. Olkaria
has a proven resource of 450MW, but only a total of 212 MW is being utilized. The area is dived
into 3 main fields: Olkaria East field, Olkaria West Field and Olkaria North East Field.
Currently, 5 power plants are in operation within the area:

Olkaria I
It has 3 active wells each producing 15MW.
Olkaria II
It has 2 active wells producing a total of 70MW.
Olkaria III
It is privately owned by OrPower 4 Inc. and produces 48MW.
Olkaria IV
This plant was commissioned in October 2014 and produces 140MW.
Olkaria V
This project is expected to kick start by the end of 2015 and is expected to produce
140MW.
Oserian Plant
This is owned by the Oserian Development Company and a 2MW binary plant supplies
electricity to the flower farm, while an additional 1.28MW is used directly.

Other prospects outside Olkaria are still under investigation and Eburru is the only site with
drilled exploratory wells. Most of the other sites have already been prequalified through
reconnaissance studies and detailed surface exploration, but further exploratory drilling is still
pending.

Benefits of Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy has greatly benefitted Kenya in various ways.
i.

Base Load Power Provision

Geothermal is the most reliable form of energy in Kenya, and provides base load power to the
country populace with an availability factor of more than 95%.
ii.

Reduced Importation

Uptake of geothermal energy has greatly reduced over reliance on fossil fuels such as petroleum
in the Kenyan market; which is mostly imported. In a bid to make the country a net exporter
rather than a net importer, local energy resources such as geothermal energy are being promoted.

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iii.

Lower Operational Costs

Use of geothermal energy for heating in farms and industries has resulted in a drastic drop in
operating costs. Costs of generating steam from diesel operated boilers is eliminated and
replaced by the cheaper cost of tapping into readily available geothermal energy.
iv.

Job Creation

With the expansion of the geothermal sector, job opportunities have been created either directly
or indirectly. These jobs range from highly skilled level jobs such as engineering and geology, to
menial jobs.
v.

Infrastructure Development

As areas open up as a result of geothermal exploitation, more and more developments are being
witnessed in the adjacent areas. Companies involved in the exploitation and production of
geothermal energy are actively taking part in Corporate Social Responsibility activities such as
establishment of schools, hospital facilities and development of access roads.

Challenges Facing Geothermal Energy

Geothermal energy, albeit being the most reliable form of energy, its exploitation is hampered by
a number of factors.
i.

High Initial Cost

Geothermal exploitation is a capital intensive venture and without enough financial muscle, most
private companies are unable to embark on this journey.
This can however be resolved through partnerships as will be highlighted later in this document.
ii.

Policy

The new governance model in Kenya comes with its own drawbacks. With devolution and new
county governments in place, companies that were already in the process of acquiring
geothermal exploration licenses have been forced to start the process all over again, now seeking
the county governments approval before being granted licenses by the Ministry of Energy and
Petroleum (National Government).
To eliminate this stumbling block, this process of application and issuance of licenses needs to
be streamlined. More so, the county governments need to come up with clearly outlined rules of
engagement/business outlining the prerequisites for such license approvals.

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iii.

Lack of Skilled Manpower

There is a huge gap in expertise within the country, especially in the geothermal sector. This then
means that even on the onset of geothermal exploration, the country lacks enough competent
individuals to oversee these projects. Companies seeking these professional services have been
forced to import services; which is relatively expensive. Importing services has its drawbacks
in that the client pays a higher withholding tax and on top of that, pays reverse Value Added Tax.
The only remedy to this is for the government to facilitate and encourage more programmes in
our tertiary institutions that focus on training people on energy and instilling the necessary skills
required in this field. This will ensure that these services are readily available in the country and
that investors are shielded from incurring additional operational costs resulting from service
importation.
iv.

Accessibility to Prospect Sites

Some of the geothermal prospect sites such as the Barrier Volcano Complex in Northern Kenya
are located in very remote areas, with scarce to no population. Access to these areas is therefore
extremely difficult, since there are no roads and off-road vehicles are the only means of transport
that can handle the tracks.
The situation is however improving as more investors venture into geothermal exploration. The
concerned parties have taken it upon themselves to develop infrastructure leading to the prospect
sites.

Opportunities
Kenya is endowed with a vast geothermal resource, with a postulated power potential in excess
of 7,000MW. This is more than triple the countrys energy demand, as of 2013. Electricity
generated from geothermal alone is sufficient to cater for Kenyas energy demand and even
warrant export of this power.
But for this resource to be fully exploited and utilized, both the public and private sectors have to
play their respective roles. Exploitation, though expensive can be accomplished through various
models:

Fully Private Model Where a privately owned company acts as an Independent Power
Producer (IPP) and sells generated power to Kenya Power for distribution through a
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Fully Public Model Where the government forms a state owned company to produce
power from geothermal energy.

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Joint Public-Private Model Where private investors and the government through
concerted efforts join to form a company in what is called a Private-Public Partnership
(PPP).
Community Based Model Members of a community may come together as a
cooperative and invest in power production through geothermal energy.

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