The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is leading the race to make energy through renewable means.
The state-owned company is the largest single supplier of electricity to the national grid Kenya.
Earlier in the year, KenGen acting CEO and MD Abraham Serem laid out the firm’s plan to harness over 3000 megawatts (MW) of energy from renewable sources; as it seeks to diversify from expensive thermal sources.
“So far we have only exploited about 0.9GW of the 10GW geothermal potential and that is why a huge chunk of the additional capacity will be drawn from geothermal. Our focus going forward is to secure the baseload capacity to stabilize Kenya’s energy supply mainly from green renewable energy,” Said Serem
KenGen’s key strengths is its commitment to renewable energy in which it has made considerable investments in, especially geothermal, solar and wind.
Geothermal Power
Geothermal power is one of the most important sources of renewable energy in Kenya, and KenGen has been at the forefront of developing geothermal resources in the country.
Geothermal energy is derived from the heat stored in the earth’s crust, and it can be used to generate electricity with very little carbon emissions.
In Kenya, geothermal energy is particularly abundant in the Rift Valley region, where KenGen has several geothermal power plants.
Recently, KenGen started executing the MoU it has with Geothermal Dee loment Corporation (GDC) to utilize geothermal wells sunk by GDC.
KenGen majorly operates geothermal power plants under the Olaria field. The three; Olkaria I, Olkaria II, and Olkaria III have a combined installed capacity of 533 MW.
Kenya is the continent’s leader in geothermal energy production and is ranked among the world’s top 10. Increased investment has seen the East African economy climb global rankings, with recently commissioned geothermal stations taking Kenya’s capacity closer to the geothermal “gigawatt club”.
“The commissioning of Olkaria 1 unit 6 propels us an inch closer to the geothermal gigawatt club,” said ex-KenGen board chair General (Rtd) Samson Mwathethe.
KenGen’s total installed capacity through Geothermal energy is over 800MW.
In the past few years, Kenya has bagged multimillion-dollar drilling contracts across the region, making geothermal a significant export revenue generator for KenGen.
In February 2019, KenGen won part of a Sh7.6 billion contract to supply geothermal drilling services to the Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP).
This was followed up with a Sh5.2 billion tender from Tulu Moye Geothermal Operations Plc—an independent power producer located in the eastern region of Ethiopia— to drill wells and offer geo-scientific survey.
Kengen was also contracted by Djibouti to drill three geothermal wells at a cost of Sh0.7 billion.
Wind Power
Wind power is another important source of renewable energy in Kenya, and KenGen has been making significant investments in wind power in recent years.
Wind power is derived from the kinetic energy of the wind, which is converted into electricity using wind turbines. In Kenya, the coastal region is particularly well-suited for wind power, and KenGen has several wind power projects in the region.
One of KenGen’s largest wind power projects is the Ngong Hills Wind Farm, which is located in the Ngong Hills outside Nairobi. The wind farm has an installed capacity of 25.5 MW, which is enough to power more than 40,000 homes. The company has also expressed its commitment to developing even more wind power projects in the future, with plans to increase its installed wind capacity to 300 MW by 2025.
Hydropower
Hydropower is another important source of renewable energy in Kenya, and KenGen operates several hydropower plants across the country.
Hydropower is derived from the energy of falling water, which is used to drive turbines and generate electricity. In Kenya, hydropower is particularly abundant in the highlands, where the country’s major rivers flow.
All the hydropower plants in Kenya are under the management of KenGen. The seven forks dams ecosystem which holds Gitaru, Masinga, Kamburu, Kindaruma and Kiambere aid in powering the nation through renewabke energy.
Gitaru Hydropower Plant, which has an installed capacity of 225 MW, is the largest hydropower plant in the country. I
There are plans to relaunch the Turkwel Hydropower Plant, which is at the border between Turkana and West Pokot Counties.
Kenya’s comibined hydropower capacity currently stands at more than 700 MW.
Solar
KenGen managed the 54.6 MW Garissa solar plant.
The solar plant which is located in Mbalambala area of Garissa County was built by the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) and commissioned by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2019 and is the latest initiative to cut the country’s reliance on expensive thermal power.
KenGen has also started feasibility studies on having solar panels on top of hydro dams to increase electricity production.
Conclusion
KenGen is a leading player in the renewable energy sector
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