Kenya has recently found a new source of renewable geothermal energy: hydrothermal vents. With the African tectonic plate splitting in two under the town of Naivasha, a cleave bursting with geothermal energy was formed. The energy itself is created from hot water that bubbles from underground and turns into steam as it rises to the surface. The steam is then used to create electricity.
However, this is not the first time Kenya has discovered geothermal energy. Kenya has been harnessing energy since the 1950s, making it the seventh largest geothermal power in the world. Furthermore, their resources are enough to meet five times the peak energy demand. The town of Naivasha has become the leader of Kenya’s geothermal industry. At full power, Naivasha’s Olkaria geothermal power project can generate 963 megawatts of electricity. This is a significant achievement, especially in Africa, as 43% of the continent is still without electricity. The only other geothermal energy producer in Africa is Ethiopia, but the nation’s capacity is only 7.5 megawatts.
Kenya is also contributing to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which aims for universal energy access by 2030. Reports conducted by the U.N. have confirmed that there is enough renewable energy to power Africa into the future, but there are numerous up-front costs involved. The estimated cost is $1.5 trillion, according to James Mwangi, the founder of the group Climate Action Platform for Africa.
Harnessing renewable energy is ten times more expensive for Africa than utilizing fossil fuels, yet it will be beneficial to achieve energy independence in the future. Kenya has now taken the role of assisting neighboring countries to develop geothermal energy. New geothermal wells are being drilled in Ethiopia and Djibouti. The estimated energy that Kenya and Ethiopia together can harness is 10,000 megawatts.
While the transition to geothermal energy will have lasting benefits for Kenya, the process is not cheap. Kenya borrowed 45 million euros as a loan from Germany to upgrade two geothermal power plants in Naivasha. At the completion of this project, Kenya will be fourth on the list of geothermal users, following the U.S., Indonesia, and The Philippines. While the up-front costs are steep, the geothermal sector is expected to generate 34 jobs per installed megawatt created, compared to 19 by the wind sector. While there is much to be done to implement geothermal energy throughout Africa, there is no denying that Kenya is propelling the continent in a new direction.
