The Geothermal Development Company has struck viable steam
at the Silali field that will discharge steam at 22 megawatts, marking a major
milestone in opening up a new frontier of renewable energy in the country.
Silali is part of three fields including Korosi and Paka, which are part of the Baringo- Silali -Paka geothermal project, where GDC has been drilling wells for the past seven years.
GDC managing director and chief executive officer Paul Ngugi said the first phase of the Baringo-Silali-Paka project targets to develop 300MW spread in Korosi, Paka and Silali, with each of the fields producing 100MW of power.
He said the success at the Silali field was a major boost in the state corporation’s quest to provide Kenya with affordable and reliable energy adding that the first viable well at the Baringo-Silali-Paka Geothermal project was struck at the Paka field in 2020.
“The viability of Silali geothermal field will usher Kenya into an age of vibrant geothermal energy,” the MD said.
While admitting that Silali field was a very productive area, Ngugi argued that having one well discharging steam at 22MW was equivalent to drilling about four wells that discharge at 5MW. He said the GDC company would saving a lot of money, considering that drilling a well costs Sh700 million.
Ngugi said at Paka field, where most of the work has been done, is expected to start production of the first 100MW by 2028.
He said they have drilled for the steam and next will be construction of power plant. Ngugi said they are doing a feasibility study and thereafter scout for investors.
He said the project will in the next three years be feeding power to the national grid.
Ngugi said all major economies thrive because of access to abundant energy and the geothermal would power Kenya into a vibrant future of great industrial and social development.
At Baringo-Silali-Paka, he said GDC has harnessed 75MW of geothermal steam and the company was targeting to have a 105 MW power plant at Paka by 2027.
Similarly, GDC had started to open the Suswa field in Naivasha.
Ngugi said power producers will be competitively selected to build power plants at the Baringo-Silali-Paka geothermal fields, which are expected to start electricity production by 2028.
Kenya is seeking to generate more geothermal power to reduce reliance on hydro power that is prone to weather shocks as well as displace costly thermal power plants.
The Baringo-Silali fields, which are outside the traditional geothermal fields of Olkaria, have can produce an estimated 3,000 megawatts making them an appealing alternative for the country that now needs to balance between availing power to the grid and making it affordable.
While geothermal resources in Kenya are estimated to have a potential to produce 10,000MW, the country has exploited about 950MW to date.
Of this, about 800MW is generated at power plants built by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) while the balance is by Independent Power Producers (IPPs) Orpower that produces 150MW at its plants at Olkaria and the recently launched 35MW plant by Sosian Energy at Menengai Geothermal Project.
At Baringo-Silali-Paka, GDC has drilled wells that can generate up to 70MW, which it intends to increase to 100MW by the end of the year.
Ngugi said the IPPs that would put up power plants at the Baringo-Silali fields would sell electricity to Kenya Power at between Sh8 and Sh10 (six and seven US cents) per unit.
GDC has been derisking the fields by exploring and drilling wells in areas that show high potential. It did the same in Menengai and parts of Olkaria.
Power generation through geothermal stood at around 200MW in 1998 when GDC was formed. At the moment, about 950MW geothermal installed capacity is generated using steam from GDC wells.
Ngugi said GDC is also exploring wellhead technology at Menengai and Baringo-Silali-Paka projects, which allows for smaller, modular power plants to be built directly at the wellhead, enabling faster deployment and access to revenues earlier in the investment cycle.
Ideally, wellheads take the shape of a normal geothermal power plant, but in a smaller version. While a geothermal power plant is run by steam piped from many wells, a wellhead utilises steam from just a single well.
Once the main plant is fully constructed, the MD said the wellheads are removed and moved to different stations so that steam from the wells can then feed into the main plant.
The wellhead concept, Ngugi said will enable the company generate more power from each individual well, help reduce well redundancies and prevent well failures as it involves tapping steam from wells that are undergoing tests or awaiting connection to permanent plants.
“This technology not only helps to utilise the investment put into drilling the wells, which would otherwise be lying idle, but also yields benefits through early power generation,” he said.
He said they were seeking flexible ways of generating electricity by exploring ways of encouraging investments in modular and mobile power plants.
Ngugi said geothermal wellhead units were quick to instal and allowed tapping of geothermal wells almost immediately after drilling, compared to the four to five years it takes to construct a conventional power plant.
He said when a geothermal well remains idle, it takes a long time to recover the huge cost, notwithstanding that some of the money is borrowed at interest from financial institutions.
Ngugi said GDC plans to pump an extra 1065MW into the national grid in the next 10 years, which will be generated from Menengai (465MW), Baringo-Silale (300MW) and 300MW from South Rift region as the government seeks more geothermal energy.
He noted the power plants being developed at Menengai and Baringo-Silali Paka geothermal projects will significantly boost GDC's revenue and the state corporation still had its sights on achieving financial sustainability by 2029.
“GDC will be able to pay its bills and have spare money for investments,” he noted.
Currently GDC relies heavily on government funding for its operations.
At the Menengai Geothermal Project in Nakuru the first geothermal power plant built by local firm Sosian Energy started electricity production in 2023 after completion through Sh6.5 billion funding from the China-based Zhejiang Kaishan Compressor.
After derisking the fields, GDC competitively selected three firms including Sosian Energy alongside, Quantum Power East Africa and the American firm OrPowerTwenty Two Company in 2013 through competitive bidding to build, operate and own the first three power plants in Menengai, each generating 35MW to pump into the national grid a cumulative 105 MW.
Ngugi said the construction of Quantum Power East Africa’s power generation facility was 60 per cent complete, while works at Orpower 22 power Company were 50 per cent complete.
He said entry of the three independent power producers is expected to yield a significant drop in power tariffs and attract more investors locally and regionally as they will have a huge saving on energy, creating employment opportunities. Prices of various value-added commodities he observed will drop drastically.
Ngugi said the state corporation has drilled steam wells at the Menengai Geothermal Project with an output of 165MW, which is more than enough for the first 105MW of electricity expected to be generated by the three IPPs.
Further, GDC has constructed the steam gathering system while Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) has set up a 132 kilovolt (kV) substation that will transmit electricity from the three power plants.
Under the arrangement christened Menengai Model, GDC was to take care of upfront risks and then invite private sector players to construct, own and operate the plants for 25 years.
According to the MD, the completion of the 105MW Menengai project will elevate Kenya’s global ranking to fifth overall, establishing beyond all contestation that economic growth and clean energy development can go hand in hand.
In addition to increasing the renewable energy generation capacity in the country, the Menengai geothermal project is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 1.95 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
