AEE Representatives Visit KenGen Geothermal Plant in Hell’s Gate National Park in Lake Nivasha, Kenya

AEE representatives visited the KenGen Geothermal Plant located in Hell’s Gate National Park in Lake Nivasha, Kenya. It’s the largest geothermal plant in Africa and the 8th largest in the world. Geothermal energy is considered a renewable resource and provides about 46% of the power in Kenya.

The other power generation in Kenya is 36% hydro, 13% wind, 2% solar and cogen. The current national installed capacity is 2942 MW with 86% coming from green renewable sources. Approximately 25% of the population is still without access to power, but 5 years ago that number was 75%. A testament to the work being done in Kenya.

The KenGen site currently has 5 plants with a 6th under construction and over 40 wells. The hot steam is extracted from the ground, cooled and the excess water is injected back into the ground.

Mr Simon Ngure, Director: R&C Division Kenya Electricity Generating Co., Ltd, and President of the AEE Chapter, AEPEA, played an integral role in the development and construction of one of the geothermal plants. Mrs. Freda Nyambura with the Chapter is also an employee of KenGen and was a wonderful host for the visit. Mr. Chris Mobri and Mrs. Yolanda de Lange also joined the team for the tour.