Construction of Olkaria V geothermal power plant, Kenya Oct. 2018 (source: LinkedIn/ Roberto Razo) After months of delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has announced that the Olkaria Unit 6 power plant is expected to be commissioned within the next three months. The added 86 MWe of generation of Unit 6 will bring the total generation capacity of Olkaria 1 to 790 MW. To date, this is the largest geothermal project in Kenya.
We had previously reported on KenGen commencing with the final phase of Unit 6 construction. Commissioning of the power plant was originally scheduled for the last quarter of 2021.
The announcement was made by KenGen Geothermal Development Director Peketsa Mangi. “The additional power units to the national grid underscores KenGen and government commitments to the use of clean energy and reduce the carbon footprints in the environment,” Mangi added.
Mangi also provided updates on other KenGen projects. Additional drilling is being done in the Eburru Wellhead Plant area to upgrade its current 2.5-MW capacity to 25 MW – a plan that we reported on back in 2016 . A final feasibility study is also being done for a new 14o-MW Olkaria 7 geothermal power plant.
Source: Kenya News Agency