Two power producers have started construction of power plants with a total capacity of 70 megawatts (MW) at the Menengai geothermal fields, which will start feeding the national power grid by the end of next year.

This will increase the total power generation capacity at the Menengai fields to 105 MW and enable the completion of the first phase of the project, which was originally scheduled for completion in 2016, which has suffered major delays.

American company Orpower 22 broke ground on the construction of a 35 MW facility last week, at an event attended by President William Ruto.

The firm expects to spend $90 million (Sh11.7 billion) in 14 months to build the power plant.

In early June, Britain’s Globeleq, another firm developing another 35 MW power plant, also broke ground and said it expects the plant to start feeding the grid by the end of 2025.

The first power plant was built by local company Sosian Enerji and started producing electricity in 2023. The power plants are of modular design and can be scaled up in the future.

The commissioning of the two power plants is expected to move Kenya up the global rankings of top electricity producers using geothermal.

“The completion of the 105 MW Menengai project will elevate Kenya’s global ranking to fifth overall, demonstrating beyond all debate that economic growth and clean energy development can go hand in hand,” President Ruto said.

The country is currently the eighth largest user of geothermal energy. installed capacity 984 MW.

Besides Sosian, which produces electricity from Menengai, other players include Kenya Electricity Generation Company (KenGen), which is the largest with its fleet of geothermal power plants in Olkaria with an installed capacity of 799 MW, and Orpower 22, which also produces electricity through geothermal. It is located in Olkaria and has an installed capacity of 150 MW.
The Menengai fields were developed by the State-owned Geothermal Development Corporation, which was tasked with undertaking capital-intensive exploration for geothermal steam and then developing viable fields by drilling production wells and building steam collection systems.

In Menengai, after compromising the sites, GDC competitively selected private firms to develop three power plants with a capacity of 35 MW each.

This was in 2014 and the companies were expected to complete the power plants by December 2016.

However, the three firms faced difficulties accessing financing to advance the projects and were only recently able to reach financial close. There are concerns that delays could lead to reduced expected benefits; The most important of these is reducing energy costs.

Geothermal Energy from Menengai costs about Sh8 per kilowatt hour while fossil fuel generated energy costs Sh22 per kWh.

“The groundbreaking of the third power plant at the Menengai geothermal project is a milestone for GDC and Kenya. This is also a confirmation of the feasibility of our innovative paradigm to de-risk geothermal fields and make them safe for private investment,” said GDC Director General Paul Ngugi.

“The third power plant completes Phase I of the Menengai Geothermal Project, which will produce 105 MW of energy Affordable, reliable and green energy”

The Menengai project is backed by an investment of $198.4 million (Sh25.74 billion) from international partners, including the AfDB, which provided $120 million (Sh16.6 billion) in financing through concessional concession, the AfDB said in an update on the project on October 15. he said. lending window.

The AfDB has also mobilized additional financing from partners such as the Strategic Climate Fund, the Trade and Development Bank for Eastern and Southern Africa and the Finnish Industrial Cooperation Fund.

The bank noted that the Menengai project will have a major impact on the country’s energy sector when completed.

“Menengai geothermal facility will have a total installed capacity of 105 megawatts and will produce 1,000 gigawatt hours of electricity annually. In its statement, AfDB stated that 70,000 people in rural areas, as well as 300,000 small businesses and industries, will be among those who will benefit from electricity.

In addition to increasing the renewable energy production capacity of the Menengai geothermal project in the country, reduce greenhouse gas emissions 1.95 million tons of carbon dioxide per year.

“The beauty of geothermal energy is that it is abundant in Kenya,” Globeleq Managing Director Edouard Wenseleers said, as quoted in the AfDB statement.

“This abundant, clean resource supports the economic and social development of one of East Africa’s leading economies.”