US strategy can fuel Africa's geothermal goal

Sosian Energy at Menengai crater in Nakuru county on June 8, 2023. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The drought that hit the horn of Africa, before the rains, was sobering. Apart from acute hunger, the drought short-circuited our power generation.

Luckily, for Kenya, geothermal energy saved the day. That's the clout of geothermal - it is resilient against erratic weather patterns.

Yet, developing geothermal is a complex, specialised, labour and capital-intensive enterprise. It requires courage and commitment. Few African countries, though endowed with the resource, are yet to exploit its fortunes. That is why the US interest in Africa's clean energy is electrifying. Last August, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken unveiled a five-year plan dubbed the "US Strategy towards Sub-Saharan Africa" where renewable energy is a key pillar.

Of the four core pillars in the strategy, climate and just energy-transition are generously considered. The US has pledged to support Africa's quest to tackle climate and energy security.

Africa's geothermal potential is conservatively put at 23,000 MW, straddling 13 countries in what is known as the Eastern Africa Rift System (EARS). Yet, even with this mindboggling potential, EARS states still struggle with power.

Kenya is the only country in Africa commercially mining and utilising geothermal for power generation. Our geothermal installed capacity is 940 MW.

This makes geothermal our baseload, the anchor source of power in the energy mix. The good news is Ethiopia and Djibouti have also started to develop this resource.

But, due to risks, and intensive investment associated with developing geothermal fields, oftentimes, the private sector shies off. For Kenya, the government strategically dealt with this predicament by establishing the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) 13 years ago, to de-risk the sector and attract investors. Today, GDC has harnessed about 600MW of steam. Part of the steam is used to generate 280MW at Olkaria IV powerplant. In Menengai, one Independent Power Producer is about to complete a 35MW powerplant.

It will start generation in July. Just recently, we broke ground for construction of another 35MW powerplant. To complete the first phase of 105MW, another IPP is also preparing to break ground soon. The de-risking strategy is now paying off. Power from Menengai will trade at about Sh9/ kWh compared to Sh22 kWh normally charged on thermal power. Kenya is comparatively lucky. Most of Africa with geothermal resource need more support. The US partnership can accelerate this process.

"As Africa's energy demands increase to support economic growth, we will use our influence, development assistance, and financing to help African partners adapt and build resilience to climate impacts and promote mitigation strategies to achieve a sustainable and low-carbon future," reads part of the strategy. This is where geothermal plugs in as one of the most bankable low-carbon resource. What Africa needs is technological transfer, financing and strategic partnerships to unlock its geothermal vault.

In fact, this geothermal power goes beyond electricity. Opportunities abound in mining the direct heat of the hot steam for space heating, industrial processing and leisure and recreation.

At our Menengai project we have demonstrated how this heat can be used in milk pasteurisation, heating greenhouses (for accelerated growth and reduction of chemical use) in grain drying, heating aqua-ponds, and heating a laundromat. The results are terrific.

The use of this heat displaces need for diesel or wood to heat boilers. It's not only cheap but a big win for the environment too. The US with its storied success in geothermal, and now with a focused strategy on energy should be a timely trigger to jumpstart the continent's quest to affordable green power.

Indeed, geothermal is the affordable and reliable energy in the EARS that can successfully drive an economic boom. Let's unlock it.

The writer is Managing Director at Geothermal Development Company (GDC)