Official Commissioning of the 140MW Olkaria 1 Geothermal Power Plant
Major Step towards Cheaper Power
The plant, financed by a 29.5 billion yen (approx. 300 million USD) loan from Japan to the Kenya adds an additional 140MW to the national grid.
The plant was constructed by a consortium of Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Japan) and Hyundai Engineering (South Korea), and the two turbines were supplied by Toshiba Corporation (Japan).
Presently, Kenya’s electricity generation capacity stands at about 2,000MW. Approximately 300MW of this has been financed by Japan, namely; Kipevu I Diesel Power Plant (75MW), Sondu Miriu Hydropower Plant (60MW), Sangoro Power Plant (21MW), and now with the Olkaria I Units 4 & 5 Power Plant (140MW), a downward trend enjoyed in the cost of power in the country is set to continue.
In his address, the Japanese Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Mr. Tatsushi Terada said that Japan has a long history in the use of geothermal energy, and the steam turbines manufactured by Japanese companies have over 70% of the world’s share. He pledged his government’s continued support to Kenya in this field especially by utilizing Japanese expertise and technology.