Ksh6.71 Billion Loan Acquired to Fund Kenya Geothermal Power Plants Upgrade

Kenya Geothermal Power Plants will undergo upgrades as the country has tapped a loan of Sh6.71 billion from Germany in a bid to facilitate the upgrade construction  of two geothermal power plants based in Olkaria, Naivasha to 40MW. KenGen currently has a generational capacity of 1,904MW out of which 826MW is hydroelectric power.

Geothermal, thermal, and wind all produce 799MW, 253MW, and 25.5 MW respectively. The German government says that the loan is to hold up to their climate and development partnership deal in which they will endeavor to help Kenya attain a 100% transition to renewable energy and to support the country as it adapts to climate change.

Also read: $500 Million Kenya Green Hydrogen Plant Project to be Set up by HDF Energy

Kenya Geothermal Power Plants That will be Upgraded

The loans will also be used to upgrade the capacity of KenGen’s Olkaria One Additional Unit 4,5 and Olkaria IV power plants. The company is run by the Kenyan government and is the current majority shareholder as it owns 70% of total stake in the company. The Kenyan government intends to pay the loan in installments according to the National Assembly Public Debt and Privatization Committee. The Committee has drafted that the loan offered by Germany to facilitate the upgrade of the two Kenya Geothermal Power Plants will be repaid in 20 installments starting December 15^th, 2027 to June 15th, 2037.

The German Chancellor Olaf Scholz toured the Kenya Geothermal Power Plants in May during his State visit to Kenya. The upgrade construction will entail the replacement of the existing turbine rotor which will encompass new blades. This will add 10MW to each unit of Olkaria One Additional Units 4,5. This will also add 10MW to the two units of Olkaria IV power plants which will amount to an additional 4oMW in total. More than 90 percent of Kenya’s electricity is generated from renewable sources and Germany hopes that the loan offered to the country will be instrumental in pushing them to attain the full switch to renewable sources, primarily geothermal, hydro, and wind.