The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is set to commission the Olkaria V geothermal power plant situated in Rift Valley, western part of Kenya in June this year.
The energy producer company announced the reports said that the facility will produce a capacity of 165 MW. The main components required for this project, including steam turbines and generators, were provided by the Japanese firm, Fuji Electric.
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Olkaria V geothermal power plant
Construction of the geothermal power plant began in January 2017. The energy produced will be sold to Kenya Power (KPLC), the company that provides the electricity utility. H Young & Company (HY) is also partaking the development after it was chosen to provide some of the parts needed to equip the steam plant. As a result, two units could be built, each producing 82.7 MW, by absorbing 500 tonnes of dry steam per hour, at temperatures of about 270 degrees Celsius.
KenGen had also chosen Mitsubishi Corporation who worked with its compatriot Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems to supply some of the equipment and offer transportation of the equipment from the port of Mombasa in the east of the country to the site where the plant is located in the west.
The project is being funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The funds were invested together with the European Investment Bank (EIB), in the construction of Unit VI of the Olkaria I geothermal power plant, which will add 70 MW to the existing 185 MW facility. Additionally, JICA will also finance the Ngong Hills wind project, alongside the EIB which will increase the capacity of the wind farm from 25.5 MW to 35.5 MW.
