GDC to develop geothermal heat park in Nakuru County Kenya

Geothermal Development Company (GDC) has announced plans to establish a geothermal heat park in Nakuru County in Kenya.

GDC Managing Director Engineer Jared Othieno revealed the plans and said the company has inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the County Government of Nakuru to develop the park as an industrial park that will use residual heat from geothermal power plants for direct use applications.

The geothermal heat park will use residual heat from GDC’s geothermal power plants for direct-use in industrial applications such as timber drying, milk pasteurization, and grain drying. Eng Othieno affirmed the availability of the crucial component for the park to operate which is geothermal heat mined from steam.

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Clean energy

As part of the company’s mission of producing clean energy, Othieno said the geothermal steam in industrial processes would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and will be an all-season source of energy.

“The steam produced by GDC is clean and can support various industrial processes ranging from industrial, agriculture, tourism, leisure and domestic, depending on the resource temperature and usage. Besides electricity, geothermal energy provides direct heat to industrialists, a by-product of electricity in the form of steam coming from power plants at about 1500C which is affordable,” said the Managing Director.

Engineer Jared has also appealed to investors to establish industrial parks in the Menengai and Baringo-Silali geothermal areas that would make use of the residual steam from the wells in the two zones. According to the MD, the use of geothermal steam instead of fossil fuels in manufacturing, positions GDC as a vital component in Kenya’s energy transition strategy and could make Kenya a more attractive investment destination for companies seeking green energy.