country report of geothermal development in kenya
TRANSCRIPT
International Symposium on Earth Science and Technology 2018
Country Report of Geothermal Development in Kenya
INTRODUCTION
ENERGY SITUATION IN KENYA
Energy Regulation commission (ERC) is a government body which regulates and
approves energy retail tariffs to be charged per kWh. Electricity generation is
liberalized with several licensed electric power producers, distributors and
transmission utilities.
Figure 2; Main stakeholders of Kenyan energy sector
Figure 1: Map of Kenya, counties and
position of Kenya in Africa (right).
ENERGY GENERATION AND INSTALLATION
Figure 4; Energy generation mix
DEMAND AND SUPPLY FOR ELECTRICITY
Since 2006, electricity peak demand rose from 900MW to about 1800MW in 2018
CONCLUSION
Geothermal energy in Kenya has taken the base load due to its reliability, low cost as
well as its minimum negative impact on environment. The Government of Kenya is fast-
tracking geothermal development by encouraging both public and private sectors to take
part in the development of geothermal resources in line with vision 2030. Geothermal
development is set to phase out thermal power plants and thus reduce the cost of
electricity to excite economic growth. Enhancement of specialized skills will be key to
growth in future development of geothermal resource in Kenya, However, financing of
geothermal projects remain the major challenge and involvement of the private sector
should be encouraged. Direct utilization of geothermal resources still requires more
improvement in order to realize full benefits of geothermal energy.
FEED IN TARIFF APPLICABLE IN KENYA
Kenya’s population is estimated to be
47-52 million, extrapolating from the
trend of previous census survey
Figure 3; Energy mix and future demand
Customer Category $/kWh
Commercial Industrial 1 0.21
Commercial Industrial 2 0.20
Commercial Industrial 3 0.17
Commercial Industrial 4 0.16
Commercial Industrial 5 0.16
Small Commercial/SME 0.22
Domestic Lifeline (less than 10kWh) 0.17
Domestic Lifeline (Above 10kWh) 0.22
Taxes & levies 0.20
Table 2; Electricity consumer tariffs
Table 1; FiT applicable in Kenya
CHALLENGES
1) High costs of power connectivity; though it reduced from $350 in 2013 to $150 in
2016, many Kenyans still find this amount unaffordable.
2) Rural electrification body also sites inadequate funding to carry out substantial
rural electrification.
3) Deforestation and subsequent droughts continue to diminish cheap hydro-electric
power hence pushing power prices up.
4) Inadequate financing of geothermal project due to scarcity of long term
concessional loans.
5) Limited specialized skilled human capacity in all stages of geothermal
development.
SOLUTIONS
1) Connectivity should be subsidize through projects such as the ‘Last Mile Project’
to all homesteads.
2) Enlisting IPPs to provide financing at certain stages of development.
3) Continuous training of human capacity
ENERGY DEMAND, SUPPLY AND ACCESS TO ELECTRICITY
Figure 5 shows percentage of households connected to the electricity grid in 2009 and
2018. Access to electricity rose from 23% in 2009 to 56% in 2018.
Figure 5; Access to electricity
Kenya is currently ranked 9th globally
in installed capacity of geothermal
energy. Geothermal is leading in the
share of national electricity production.
GDC was formed through an Act of
Parliament in 2008 and mandated
to fast-track exploration and
development of steam. Development
of Menengai field to produce 105MW
is the biggest milestone undertaken by
GDC. Currently GDC is mobilizing rigs to
North Rift to develop 300MW at
Baringo, Korosi, Paka, and Silali block.
Figure 6; Baringo – Silali geothermal block
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Access to electricity 2009 Access to electricity 2018
National Average 2009 National Average 2018
John Ng’ethe1, Leonard Langat2 and George M. Muchiri3
1Jomo Kenyatta university of Agriculture and Technology
2Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen),
3 Geothermal Development Company