Japanese energy company Marubeni has secured a full turn-key engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract from Kenya Electricity Generating to construct 70MW geothermal power plant in the country.

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Image: It will be Marubeni’s first geothermal plant in Africa. Photo courtesy o f rawpixel/Unsplash.

This geothermal plant is expected to operational by 2021 and will be located in the Olkaria area of Nakuru County. It will be Marubeni’s first geothermal plant in Africa and is the sixth power plant (Unit 6) within the Olkaria1 Geothermal Power Station.

Main components needed for the project including steam turbines and generators, will be provided to Marubeni by Fuji Electric. This Project will be financed by an official development assistance (ODA) loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and also by loans from European Investment Bank.

Marubeni said: “Geothermal power plants emit only a small amount of greenhouse gases and are moreover a stable source of energy as they are not disturbed by the weather.

“For these reasons, geothermal power plants are an important base load energy source, producing roughly 43% of the electricity generation in Kenya.

“Peak demand in Kenya has been increasing by an average of approximately 5% annually. Marubeni is committed to meeting Kenya’s robust electricity demand and contributing to the Kenyan economic development.”

The firm stated that this project one part of its expansion in renewable energy generation business. Marubeni claims to have constructed more than 900MW from geothermal power plants.

In June, Marubeni had secured financial close for the construction of the 98.4MW geothermal power plant in the south Sumatra province in Indonesia.

The loan was provided by Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the Asian Development Bank, Mizuho Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, and MUFJ Bank. The loan of commercial banks in Japan uses the insurance of Nippon Export and Investment Insurance Co.

Power generated from the geothermal plant will be sold under a 30 year power purchase agreement to PT. PLN.