The Olkaria VI Geothermal Power Station, also known as the Olkaria VI Geothermal Power Plant, is a power station under construction in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

, with an electric capacity of 140 megawatts. The plant will be developed under a

public private partnership In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichke ...

(PPP) model, where the state-owned

Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...

(KenGen) will co-own the power station with a strategic partner.

Location

The power station would be located in the Olkaria area, in

Hell's Gate National Park Hell's Gate National Park is a national park situated near Lake Naivasha in Kenya. The park is named after a narrow break in the cliffs, once a tributary of a prehistoric lake that fed early humans in the Rift Valley. It was established in 1984 ...

, in

Nakuru County Nakuru County is a county in Kenya. It is county number 32 out of the 47 Kenyan counties. Nakuru County is a host to Kenya's Fourth City – Nakuru City. On 1 December 2021, President Uhuru Kenyatta awarded a City Charter status to Nakuru, ran ...

, approximately , by road, northwest of the city of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the capital of Kenya. Olkaria VI would sit adjacent to Olkaria II Geothermal Power Station.

Overview

The Olkaria VI power station is designed to generate 140 MW, to be sold directly to

Kenya Power and Lighting Company Kenya Power and Lighting Company, commonly referred to as Kenya Power or shortened KPLC, is a public liability company which transmits, distributes and retails electricity to customers throughout Kenya. Location KPLC headquarters are at Stima ...

(KenyaPower), for integration into the Kenyan grid. About from the site of Olkaria VI, lies a 220kV substation, where the output from this power station will be directed for evacuation. KenGen has drilled and tested steam holes and prepared the site where the power station will be built. When a strategic partner is identified and selected, an ad hoc

special purpose vehicle A special-purpose entity (SPE), also called a special-purpose vehicle (SPV) or a financial vehicle corporation (FVC), is a legal entity (usually a limited company of some type or, sometimes, a limited partnership) created to fulfill narrow, speci ...

(SPV) company will be formed, with KenGen owning 25 percent of the SPV.

Developers

In May 2020, KenGen concluded the first bidding round for the selection of the strategic partner. Four companies and one consortium were selected to proceed to the second round of bidding. The five entities are listed in the table below. *Notes: The ''Engie/Toyota Consortium'' comprises (a) Engie Energy Services of the United Kingdom (b) Toyota Tsusho Corporation of Japan (c) Kyuden International Corporation and (d) DL Koisagat Tea Estate.

Operations

The plan calls for the strategic partner to own, finance, build, operate and maintain the power station for the duration of the PPP contract. At the end of that contract, ownership would revert to KenGen. During the contract period, KenGen would be responsible for supplying the steam required to run the power station.

References

External links