Olkaria VII Geothermal Power Station

The Olkaria VII Geothermal Power Station, also known as the Olkaria VII Geothermal Power Plant, is a proposed geothermal power station in Kenya. The feasibility studies which will inform the design and generation capacity of this renewable energy infrastructure is ongoing, as of March 2022. The proposed generation capacity ranges from 83 megawatts,^[1] to 140 megawatts.^[2] The plant is owned and under development by Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), the electricity generation parastatal company in Kenya.^[3]

The power station would be located in the Olkaria area, in Hell's Gate National Park, in Nakuru County, approximately 126 kilometres (78 mi), by road, northwest of the city of Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.^[4] After exploring seven possible locations, KenGen settled on a location 220 metres (720 ft) from the southern boundary of Hell's Gate National Park.^[5]

In 2020 Kenya had total installed generation capacity of 2,840 megawatts.^[6] Of that, 863.1 megawatts (30.4 percent), were derived from geothermal sources.^[7] Olkaria VII helps the country increase its generation capacity to 5,000MW by 2030 and also increases the geothermal content towards the 50 percent goal by ethe same date.^[8]

In August 2024, in regulatory filings to the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), following environmental and social impact studies carried out by West Japan Engineering Consultants Inc, KenGen decited to build a power plant with generation capacity of 80.3 megawatts.^[5][9]

Olkaria VII is under development by the Kenyan parastatal, KenGen, who owns the project.^[3]

The construction of this renewable energy infrastructure project is reported as KSh32 billion (approx. US$247,511,000).^[5]

1. ^ Alexander Richter (7 September 2021). "EOI – Consultancy, Feasibility Study Olkaria VII 83 MW, Kenya". ThinkGeoEnergy.com. Reykjavik, Iceland. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
2. ^ Erastus Gichohi and Calvin Osiemo (11 February 2011). "KenGen Set To Commission A New Geothermal Plant". Kenya Government News. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
3. ^ ^{a b} Africa Intelligence (13 September 2021). "KenGen resumes development of Olkaria VII geothermal site". AfricaIntelligence.com. Paris, France. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
4. ^ "Road Distance Between Nairobi And Hell's Gate National Park In Kenya" (Map). Google Maps. Google. 6 March 2022. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Brian Ambani (19 August 2024). "New 80MW KenGen geothermal plant in Olkaria to cost Sh32bn". Business Daily Africa. Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
6. ^ Julia Faria (28 January 2020). "Installed capacity of electricity generation in Kenya 2010-2020". Statista.com. New York City, United States. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
7. ^ Julia Faria (28 January 2020). "Geothermal power electricity installed capacity in Kenya 2010-2020". Statista.com. New York City, United States. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
8. ^ Theresa Smith (20 October 2020). "Kenya's geothermal generation picking up steam". ESI-Africa. Cape Town, South Africa. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
9. ^ Macharia Kamau (16 August 2024). "KenGen to spend Sh32.2 billion on new geothermal electricity plant". The Standard (Kenya). Nairobi, Kenya. Retrieved 19 August 2024.