KenGen Completes Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 Geothermal Power Plant

The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has announced the completion of the 83MW Olkaria I, Additional Unit (AU) 6 Geothermal Power Plant.

According to a release by the company, the completed construction comes after the successful delivery of full steam to the power plant in preparedness for its technical process of commercialization expected to happen by June 2022.

KenGen Managing Director and CEO, Rebecca Miano said that the construction of Olkaria I Unit 6 “is aligned to the company’s long-term strategy and Kenya’s Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) focused on the sustainable supply of renewable energy in support of the Government’s Big Four Agenda.”

The plant is expected to inject 83.3MW into the national grid and is currently undergoing its final process of reliability tests to confirm its output. This signals the completion of the construction period.

Turbine manufacturer, Fuji Electric Global in conjunction with the project Contractor, Marubeni Corporation, conducted the initial steam admission, which is essential for verifying the performance of the turbine.

The tests come almost nine months after the commencement of work to install the steam turbine at the new power plant. This is the first Fuji turbine installation in Africa and is the largest ever installed in any of KenGen’s geothermal power stations.

With the additional 83MW from the plant, geothermal is expected to grow from the current 713MW to 796MW pushing up the share of KenGen’s geothermal installed capacity from 39% to about 42%.

The plant has double advantages on climate change and affordability since geothermal is renewable and predicted to replace other more expensive sources of energy.

The Construction of Olkaria I Additional Unit 6 geothermal power plant started in December 2018 following a ceremony graced by President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Article by Charity Nyadzua