Ol Karia geothermal plant. A joint consortium of Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation and South Korean firm Hyundai Engineering will undertake the development of four geothermal power stations with a capacity of 70 megawatts apiece - two each at Olkaria stations I and IV. Photo/FILE
Construction of geothermal power plants at Olkaria is set to begin later this month, adding steam to plans by KenGen to add 280 megawatts to the national grid in two years’ time.
A joint consortium of Japanese Toyota Tsusho Corporation and South Korean firm Hyundai Engineering will undertake the development of four geothermal power stations with a capacity of 70 megawatts apiece - two each at Olkaria stations I and IV.
Toshiba Corporation will supply the steam turbines for the project.
Upon completion, KenGen will almost have tripled its total geothermal capacity from the current 150 megawatts to 430 megawatts.
The on-going expansion marks a departure from the current over-reliance on hydropower which is susceptible to the vagaries of weather. Such an experience in 2009 – when Masinga Dam was shut down due to water dropping to below generation levels as a result of poor rains – forced the country to resort to thermal power which is costly.
The Sh92.4 billion ($1.1B) geothermal extension project is co-financed by KenGen, the Government of Kenya and a host of multilateral lenders. The Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) is financing the lion’s share of the project at Sh32.3billion.
Other lenders include European Investment Bank (Sh13.2billion), French Development Agency (Sh16.5billion) and German Reconstruction Bank (KfW) will provide Sh6.6billion.
“We support Kenya’s transition towards cheaper, reliable and environment friendly energy solutions,” said Rachel Kyte, World Bank Vice President for Sustainable Development, on a field trip at the Olkaria geothermal field in Naivasha. Ms Kyte did not elaborate on the amount the Bretton Woods institution will give towards the project.
KenGen aims to increase the proportion of geothermal power from the current 13 per cent to 49 per cent of the company’s total installed capacity by the year 2030. At present, hydroelectric power accounts for 72 per cent of the firm’s aggregate energy basket. Geothermal power is considered reliable – with availability guarantee of up to 95 per cent at all times.
This will assist the listed power generator improve security of supply - geothermal power is unaffected by annual hydrological conditions and help meet the growing electricity demand at a competitive cost.
Kenya Power reported an eight per cent increase in peak demand for electricity to 1,194 megawatts in 2011 as compared to 1,107 megawatts in the previous year against the installed capacity of 1,589 megawatts and 1,473 megawatts respectively.
The existing Olkaria I power station will be extended by constructing two additional units to the existing three which will be named units IV and V. Two new units will be built at Olkaria IV power station.
The 50 wells that will feed the power stations with steam were drilled between 2009 and 2011 at a cost of Sh25.1billion ($328million) by Great Wall Drilling Company of China.
KenGen has adopted a deep drilling strategy to depths of 3,000 metres with an average output of seven megawatts per well, compared to older wells with depths of 2,200m metres which produce about 3.5megawatts.
Steam power is considered renewable energy and is strategic in combating climate change as it produces minimal carbon emissions compared to conventional thermal generation.
The Olkaria extension project is has been given a clean bill of health by the National Environmental Management Authority (Nema) and qualifies to earn carbon credits within the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism.
To sustain the growth of steam power in Kenya, KenGen has embarked on a second cycle of drilling, with 164 wells to inject a further supply of 540 megawatts to the national grid by the year 2018. [email protected]
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