The authorities in Kenya are in negotiations with various financial institutions to unlock the funding crunch facing several geothermal power projects.

Although Kenya has identified geothermal energy as the ideal solution for the country’s energy needs, several projects have failed to take off owing to a lack of funds. This has forced the nation to temporary shift focus to coal projects to address short-term energy needs, with plans to build two coal-powered plants with a combined capacity of 2 000 MW in progress.

The Kenya government has launched a push to obtain funds to implement geothermal plants to ensure the country’s long-term energy needs.

“Geothermal offers the solution to our energy needs. We are looking for funds to avoid further delays in the implementation of the identified projects,” says Ministry of Energy and Petroleum principal secretary Joseph Njoroge.

Efforts to obtain funds for geothermal projects have started to bear fruit, with the Commonwealth Investment Corporation (CIC) having committed to investing $1-billion in Kenya’s geothermal sector.

“We plan to make debt and equity investments in Kenya’s geothermal sector,” says CIC founder Dr Mohan Kaul.

While this amount will help kick-start the stalled projects, particularly those being implemented in the Rift Valley, it is a mere drop in the ocean.

Over the next three years, Kenya will require a staggering $4.5- billion to implement the earmarked geothermal projects. To generate at least 5 000 MW from geothermal sources by 2030, the country requires a mind-boggling $20-billion.

Currently, there are four proposed projects with a combined capacity of 3 620 MW, which will cost an estimated $12.1-billion. They are the Bogoria-Silali, Menengai and Suswa projects, being developed by Geothermal Development Company, and the 920 MW project in Olkaria being developed by the Kenya Electricity Generation Company.

According to the National Energy Policy, demand for electricity in Kenya has been on an upward trend since 2004, owing to accelerated economic growth.

Peak demand increased from 899 MW in 2004 to 1 194 MW in 2011. The peak load is projected to grow to 2 511 MW by 2015 and 15 026 MW by 2030.