KenGen promises to switch on 168MW plant in 2019

KenGen Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Rebecca Miano with other KenGen top officials speaking to journalists during a media tour to the Olkaria V in Naivasha on February 15,2018(James Wanzala,Standard)

The 168MW Olkaria V geothermal power plant will be operational by next year.

The plant is part of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company's (KenGen) ambitious green energy project aimed at delivering an additional 701 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy by 2019 at a cost of Sh135 billion.

The company has installed 1,631MW out of which 533MW is geothermal. The rest is hydro and wind.

The KenGen chief executive officer, Rebecca Miano, told journalists during a tour of the plant in Naivasha last week that the facility, whose construction began in January 2017, will ensure Kenyans benefit directly from reliable, clean, and affordable electricity.

“Our focus is on geothermal energy, which is an eco-friendly, renewable, and reliable source that can reduce consumers’ utility costs by up to 50 per cent,” she said.

Mrs Miano disclosed that the designing and manufacturing of the plant’s equipment, mainly in Japan and Germany, was on schedule, with several pieces already tested in readiness for shipment to Kenya.

"A substantial portion of the materials to be incorporated in this project have been sourced locally. These include cement and concrete materials, reinforcement steel bars, steel beams, and fencing materials," she said.

The project is funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Government of Kenya.