News flash
- Kenya’s government has given the go-ahead to KenGen for the construction of the 80.3-MW Olkaria VII geothermal power project. Commissioning is expected in June 2027. The approval was announced during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Kenyan President William Ruto on 29 July along with the approval for Phase III of the Last Mile Connectivity Project, which will deploy idle transformers in underserved regions and upgrade strained substations.
The Olkaria VII facility is expected to tap into 19 production wells, with a provision for seven more wells over a 25-year lifespan.
The project will be jointly financed by the Kenyan and Japanese governments, along with the European Investment Bank. Both initiatives are part of Kenya’s long-term strategy to expand access to clean energy and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
KenGen has an installed generation capacity of 1,786 MW, of which over 90% is drawn from green sources namely: hydro (826 MW), geothermal (754 MW), wind (25.5 MW). The balance is from thermal.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
