- British Independent Power Producer (IPP) Globeleq has commenced its Menengai geothermal power plant in the Rift Valley in western Kenya.
- The facility will have a capacity of 35 MWe and is supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The exploitation of geothermal resources at the Menengai site has commenced. The British Independent Power Producer (IPP) has just laid the foundation stone for its geothermal power station in the Rift Valley in Nakuru County, western Kenya. The ceremony was attended by Kenyan Vice-President Rigathi Gachagua and the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Jane Marriott.
Mike Scholey, Globeleq’s Chairman and CEO, “This will be Globeleq’s first-ever geothermal plant, our second project in Kenya, and our Malindi solar plant in the coastal region. Today’s event symbolises Globeleq’s commitment to Kenya and our desire to lead the country’s energy transition.”
The steam plant, which will require an investment of $108 million to build, has the backing of both the Kenyan and British authorities. On the sidelines of the 27th United Nations Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP27) in 2022, the British government announced an investment of almost $4 billion in Kenya, including part of the Menengai project.
The Menengai geothermal project is supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Trade and Development Bank of Eastern and Southern Africa (TDB) and Finnfund, a Finnish investor. These financial institutions have granted loans totalling $72 million to Globeleq. The electricity produced at Menengai will be sold for 25 years to the state-owned company Kenya Power.