European Union investing in geothermal energy in Kenya

10 September 2009

A geothermal energy project is going to be undertaken in Kenya’s Rift Valley.

Financed by the European Union to the amount of 1.7 billion Sh (about 12 million Dollars), the project will be implemented by UNIDO, the UN body responsible for industrial development.

The funds will be used in principle to carry out feasibility studies as well as exploration work. The objective is to prepare the ground for the arrival of private investors who will then develop geothermal power stations.

“Geothermal energy constitutes one of the four central programmes of our centre, and is right at the heart of our strategic priority of developing renewable sources of energy, favourable to the environment”, as Giorgio Rosso Cicogna, director of the UNIDO International Centre for Science and High Technologies, told a press conference.

According to the figures provided by the Organization, Kenya will need 1500 additional MW of electricity over the next ten years in order to cover energy demand. The Kenyan government is hoping that at least 700 MW will be produced by geothermal sources between now and 2020.<br/>

Category: Energy