Industry

Kenya, World Bank seek consultant for geothermal programme

GEO

A geothermal power generation plant at Olkaria: The consultancy firm will lay out an ambitious rollout plan that harnesses private sector participation in helping Kenya achieve its 2030 Vision of developing a 5,000MW source of sustainable energy. PHOTO | FILE

The government has partnered with the World Bank in seeking a consultant to formulate a national geothermal strategy as part of efforts to help achieve Kenya's 2030 Vision of developing a 5,000MW source of sustainable energy.

The announcement, contained on the international financier’s job placement website, says that the consultancy firm will lay out an ambitious rollout plan that harnesses private sector participation in future steam explorations.

“Geothermal is one of the most promising indigenous resources for power development in Kenya, with an estimated potential between 7,000 and 10,000 MW. It is also the country’s least cost base load option. The current Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) has set ambitious target for development of over 5,000 MW by 2030,” it said.

The Bretton Woods institution said steps taken by Kenya to diversify the generation mix via development of renewable energy resources would enhance energy security and lower electricity costs to consumers, thereby making Kenya more competitive in the region.

It also commended Kenya for making significant steps in the last three years where it doubled geothermal installed capacity from 240 MW in 2013 to 600 MW in 2015.

“The upward trend in development of geothermal capacity is expected to continue as the country has set ambitious goals for expansion. But to fast-track this, the government needs to address bottlenecks identified that hold back private sector involvement in geothermal development,” it said.

The consultant is expected to review adequacy of existing arrangements for geothermal development with particular focus on policy, legal and regulatory framework including licensing and procurement pricing and incentives, including feed-in tariffs, levies and taxes.

“A framework to address environmental, social and land issues in the context of geothermal as well as capacity needs and better use of local expertise with a keen promotion of direct uses of geothermal resources has to be looked into,” the announcement read.

The World Bank says the suitable consultant should come up with a timeline for execution of identified projects while adequately addressing the challenges.

It is this document that will be used to market Kenya’s geothermal blocks to investors in international workshops for possible wooing of geothermal developers.

The identified firm will have seven months to carry out all surveys and come up with the national strategic paper.