Quantum power East Africa GT Menengai Ltd has received funds worth Sh5 billion ($49.5million) from the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) after the African Development Bank (AfDB) approved a senior loan of Sh3 billion ($29.5 million) and a concessional loan of Sh2 billion ($20 million).
The funds are to be used on the development of a geothermal plant that is located at the Menengai geothermal field in Nakuru County. The funds will be going to a 35W geothermal power plant, which is part of a set of three other plants, which have a combined capacity of 105MW.
This is part of the Quantum Power-Menengai Geothermal Project that is expected to promote public-private partnerships and help the country to exploit geothermal to offer low-cost, reliable, and environment-friendly electricity
According to Amadou Hott, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at the African Development Bank, Kenya has nearly 7,000 MW of geothermal potential, yet only about 200 MW is currently being developed.
“The partnership between the African Development Bank and the CIF to contribute to Kenya’s efforts in scaling up the development of this renewable resource and boost economic growth is commendable. The deployment of CTF funds is directly contributing to unlocking the power of the private sector in driving long-lasting market transformation and mitigating risks in the geothermal power sector,” he said.
The government of Kenya is also putting efforts into creating an enabling environment in order to attract private investors into the sector as the project promotes its current Big Four agenda. In addition, the project also goes hand in hand with the AFDB’s commitments to both ‘Light up and power Africa’ and ‘Industrialize Africa’.
The project shows commitment towards improving the energy sector as well as encouraging green growth through developing renewable energy infrastructure. It is expected that once complete the project will be able to supply power to 48,800 households each year at a low production cost of seven cents per kWh.
