Kenya’s geothermal power projects have earned it 7th place in the new global geothermal power production rankings, surpassing Italy.
The new global rankings, published by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREA), were reflected in the Renewable Capacity Statistics for the year 2020. The rankings were based on the different capacity of each country.
According to the data, Kenya’s capacity increased to 823MW beating out Italy’s 800MW. Renewable power generation capacity is measured as the maximum net generating capacity of power plants and other installations that use renewable energy sources to produce electricity.
Kenya, through KenGen, has an installed capacity of 823 MW, after Olkaria V – commissioned in 2019 tapped in an additional 172MW into the national grid. KenGen produces 85 percent of Kenya’s geothermal power.
READ: Kenya ranked top geothermal generating country in Africa
Kenya was the only African country shortlisted for the rankings.
In the Renewables Global Status 2018 report, Kenya emerged top in geothermal power generating capacity in Africa, and ninth globally with beating technological heavyweight Japan which ranked tenth with an output of 500 MW.
With the untapped potential of 10,000MW of geothermal energy, Kenya is on track to join the club of 4 countries with an installed 1000MW capacity or greater.
According to the global rankings, the USA leads the pack with installed geothermal capacity of 2,555 MW, followed by Indonesia at 2131 MW, Philippines – 1928 MW, Turkey – 1515 MW, New Zealand – 965 MW, and Mexico – 936 MW and Kenya seventh at 823 MW.
Kengen CEO, Rebecca Miano confirmed the company’s intentions to continue investing in geothermal power generation not only within Kenya but also across borders.
READ: Kenya secures US$ 5.8 million geothermal wells drilling deal in Ethiopia
In its expansion plan, KenGen has set foot outside Kenya, securing a US$ 5.8 million contract in 2019 to drill 12 geothermal wells in Ethiopia, including installation of a water supply system and equipment. However, the expansion plan has partly been affected by the COVID – 19 pandemic which has led to a slowdown in the drilling process in Ethiopia.
