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Following this year’s United Nations Climate Summit (COP27), countries worldwide continue to adopt more sustainable and renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050. One such nation that has been at the forefront of implementing renewable energy is Kenya. In this episode of #RMBAfricaFocus, Crystal Orderson unpacks how the east African nation has tripled its power generation with geothermal energy supplying 8.6 million people in the country access to electricity, making it the continent’s top producer of geothermal energy.
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How Kenya tripled their power generation with geothermal energy
Bongani Bingwa and Crystal Orderson detail Kenya’s implementation of renewable energy and how the country is now a leader in geothermal power. The weekly series highlights Africa’s innovations and potential growth while answering key economic questions.
Following this year’s United Nations Climate Summit (COP27), countries around the world continue to adopt more sustainable and renewable energy sources in a global effort to reduce carbon emissions to zero by 2050. While South Africa has implemented hydrogen energy across various sectors, our African neighbours are using a different type of renewable energy – geothermal power. Geothermal power is the result of the conversion of the heat emitted by the earth’s core into renewable energy.
Orderson mentions Kenya’s incredible statistics regarding power generation across the country. In 2013, only 2,3 million Kenyans had access to electricity. Kenya has since increased that number to 8.6 million by 2022, with most of the energy produced being renewable.
Although the country lacked technology, Kenya harnessed their geology and eventually built one of the world’s largest geothermal power plants. The Olkaria geothermal field north west of Nairobi is the second-most productive in the world after The Geysers field in the USA.
Scientists say that the harvesting of geothermal energy could lift millions of people out of poverty while decreasing carbon emissions. This energy is vital to Kenya Vision 2030 and its emphasis on renewable energy to widen access to electricity and reduce the need for imported fossil fuels.
Contributing to this mission, RMB served as mandated lead arranger and sole funder in a six-year, US$60million loan for The Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited.
Building on its existing relationship with Kenya Power, RMB facilitated an innovative financial solution that will enable the company to expand its power transmission and distribution activities and to deliver against the infrastructure component of the Kenyan government’s Vision 2030 Initiative.