KenGen seeks adviser to secure funds for 140MW geothermal plant
What you need to know:
Advisers are expected to guide KenGen on the identification, procurement and selection of a private investor for the project including funding.
Kenya's main electricity producer KenGen is looking for an adviser to help it secure financing for the development of a 140 megawatt geothermal plant, it said on Tuesday.
The company, 70 per cent owned by the government, has installed capacity of 1,252 megawatts out of Kenya's total 1,664MW. It aims to add another 844MW to the grid by 2017 as part of a broader national power expansion programme.
Much of the new power supply will come from geothermal sources, tapping underground steam from the Rift Valley.
The advisers are expected to guide KenGen on the identification, procurement and selection of a private investor for the project including funding, the power generator said in a statement without disclosing the estimated cost of the project.
Kenya relies heavily on renewable energy such as hydroelectric and geothermal power production.
KenGen's expansion efforts are part of the government's broader ambitions to add 5,000MW to Kenya's power output by 2017, with the goal of boosting growth.
KenGen in February said it had drilled the largest geothermal steam well in Africa with a capacity to generate 30MW of power.
Although expensive to drill initially, development of cheaper geothermal power means the country will come to rely less on thermal or fuel-driven power, prone to the vagaries of high international prices, and rain-fed hydroelectric dams.
Kenya currently has 1,664MW of capacity against a maximum recorded demand of about 1,410MW.
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