Widiya
TechInAfrica – Kenya has climbed the worldwide ranking to be the 8th largest country that has an abundance of geothermal resources on the planet. In fact, the new ranking has been accomplished after the new Olkaria V geothermal power plant started its operation.
The additional 82.7 MW from the operation has seen Kenya surpass Iceland and Japan in the ranking of geothermal nations. The power plant is relied upon to add a sum of 158 MW to the matrix once Unit 2 is synchronized to the network by end of August.
In an announcement released recently, KenGen’s Managing Director Rebecca Miano stated, “We are enchanted to declare the culmination of the first unit of the Olkaria V geothermal power plant and accordingly injecting 79 MW to the national grid.”
While giving his notions of the achievement, Mrs. Miano said that the Olkaria V unit brings to 612 MW the aggregate sum of introduced geothermal power limit by KenGen. Geothermal power (612MW) supplements other power sources, for example, hydro (819.9 MW), thermal (253.5 MW), and wind (25.5 MW).
Sustainable energy source represents more than 70 percent of Kenya’s installed capacity, a level above the average of 24 percent. The nation keeps on driving the route on the sustainable energy source, having been the main ever geothermal resources producer in the mainland.
Kenya’s sustainable energy sector employs 10,000 people and the number keeps on rising strongly. The new ranking comes barely two weeks since President Uhuru Kenyatta opened the biggest wind farm in Africa; Lake Turkana Wind Project (LTWP). The undertaking that is spread more than 40,000 sections of land can produce up to 310 MW.
The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) has evaluated that Kenya’s wind energy capacity will reach 3,000 MW, more than twofold the present national demand.
