Exploring the Potential of Geothermal Energy in Kenya

Way back during my high school days, my Geography teacher taught me about an energy that is emitted from beneath the earth and one that could be used to generate thousands of megawatts of electricity. He called it ‘geothermal energy’. As young as I was then, I could not fathom how earth and the ground for that matter could emit such massive heat that could generate electricity. That was simply because I had grown up knowing that the only way to generate power was using water.

As the days moved by, I came to learn that geothermal energy had been in existence for many years and that geothermal energy has been used by many countries, now and in the past, for heating and cooking purposes. Geo is a Greek term meaning ‘of or relating to the earth’ and thermal is a word meaning ‘of or relating to heat’. Geothermal energy is natural power that is harnessed from the earth’s internal heat. The Earth’s crust, this being the central part of the Earth deep below the surface, has rocks and these rocks contain a fluid. Due to the pressure exerted by the layers of the earth to these rocks and to the fluid, they heat up to very high temperatures. Geothermal energy can also be found closer to the surface of the earth and most of the times, this is what is tapped and used in generating electricity or to directly heat and cool buildings.

Kenya has great potential for geothermal energy production. Kenya actually has the potential to beat geothermal energy-producing giants like the United States of America. We currently have four operational geothermal power stations with one still being developed and another planned for development. The geothermal energy stations which are operational are Olkaria I, Olkaria II, Olkaria III and Olkaria IV Geothermal Power Stations. Olkaria V is still under development while Akiira One Geothermal Power Station has been planned to take off. According to statistics released on Wednesday, Kenya has been ranked eighth globally in the list of largest producers of geothermal energy. Kenya moved up the ladder after an additional 280 megawatts generated at Olkaria was added to the national grid. Kenya is yet to fully embrace the utilization of the steam directly for other purposes like heating and cooling because of the nature of the environment that is naturally warm and cool.

According to KenGen, in a study that was presented to the World Bank, Kenya’s capacity at the moment in terms of installed steam power capacity stands at 579 megawatts. This now places Kenya ahead of geothermal giants as well as those with outstanding history in economy like Russia, China and Germany. The top seven countries in geothermal energy are the United States of America with 3,389 megawatts, Philippines with 1,894 megawatts, Indonesia with 1,333 megawatts, Mexico with 980 megawatts, Italy with 901 megawatts, and New Zealand with 895 megawatts and Iceland with 664 megawatts.

According to the statistics above, Kenya has immense potential in terms of geothermal production and if well exploited, then the cost of energy will come down. When the cost of energy comes down to the point that most people can afford, then the majority of those who use unclean, non-renewable energy will shift to the use of clean renewable energy. According to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, 50 percent of Kenyans use paraffin for both cooking and lighting. This is because paraffin is affordable while electricity is not. If more channels of geothermal energy production are exploited and more megawatts added to the national grid, then energy cost will surely come down. Energy determines the prices of goods in the country and later the inflation rate. When the cost of energy is lower, the cost of production will be lower too and this will finally affect the final price of goods.

According to studies conducted by the Ministry of Energy, Kenya has a potential of producing 10,000 megawatts of geothermal power. The United States of America has a capacity of 3389 megawatts. This implies that if Kenya can fully explore her geothermal potential, she will become a top producer globally. Geothermal energy is clean energy. The energy is also available all-round the year with chances of being depleted being very minimal.

Article by Juma Fred.