Kenya's Geothermal Development
KenGen is investing in geothermal exploration and drilling across Africa
Situated atop the Great Rift Valley, East Africa has immense geothermal potential. In today’s article, we explore Kenya's early foray into geothermal energy and the future of the technology.
Tapping into the planet’s inner heat
The core of the Earth is as hot as the surface of the sun. This heat radiates to upper layers of the crust, most often near fault lines and fractures.
Two types of geothermal energy
Geothermal heat can do two things: it can warm up existing underground water, forming steam vents or superheated water (which instantly becomes steam once it reaches the surface and the pressure drops), or it can heat up rock which can serve as a type of “kettle” allowing humans to inject water underground to generate steam. The former are hydrothermal systems while the latter are called enhanced geothermal systems.
Once there is steam, this can be used to move a turbine, which can generate electricity.
The innovation trajectory
Current research in geothermal energy is focussed on figuring out what temperatures can be effectively tapped into. If the rock is too hot (> 400◦C), there are technical challenges with ensuring equipment can survive the harsh conditions, but very hot rock can also generate something called “supercritical steam”, which can dramatically increase the efficiency of geothermal systems and also expand the set of regions where geothermal development can take place.
Enhanced geothermal systems are relatively new and have benefitted from advancements in drilling for oil. Hydraulic fracturing has made it easier to inject water underground. In fact, as some of my recent work shows, patents in geothermal energy frequently cite patents related to fossil fuels because of overlaps in technology. This makes geothermal energy relatively “proximate” to the fossil fuel paradigm and a great sector to diversify into if you already have expertise in digging, geologic surveying and fracturing.
Source: Jee, S.J. and Srivastav, S., 2024. Knowledge spillovers between clean and dirty technologies: Evidence from the patent citation network. Ecological Economics, 224, p.108310.
Africa's first geothermal project
Now returning to Kenya, at the height of the Yom Kippur War, Arab states imposed an oil embargo on Western nations supporting Israel in 1973. This led to a quadrupling in the price of oil which reverberated through international markets.
Many countries took note of two things: not only could the price of oil increase so dramatically but also, it was intrinsically tied to a type of geopolitical risk which could easily reoccur.
In response, in 1981, the first geothermal power station opened up in Kenya, which was the continent’s foray into this type of 24/7 clean energy. While scoping and explorations had happened even in the 1960s, the oil crisis accelerated the drive to get geothermal off the ground.
A geothermal power station in Kenya. Source: Alexandra Cadet, Wikimedia Commons
The development was overseen by KenGen, which today is 70% owned by the Government of Kenya and 30% floated on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Over the course of the next few decades, more geothermal power plants were built, and today nearly half of Kenya’s electricity needs are met through geothermal electricity generation.
The remaining electricity is largely generated from hydropower, wind, solar and biofuels with oil only accounting for 10% of electricity generation. Therefore, in terms of percentage of generation, Kenya has one of the cleanest grids in the world.
Source: IEA
Clean energy isn’t losing steam
KenGen is not limiting itself to Kenya, though. It has assessed geothermal potential in Rwanda, Eswatini and Comoros, and is actively drilling and developing geothermal power plants in Ethiopia, Djibouti and Tanzania.
At home, in Kenya, in line with the government’s green transition plan, KenGen is building out more geothermal, solar, hydro and battery projects. Financially, KenGen is doing well with significant improvements in performance and profits.
This represents a truly exciting chapter in Africa's energy development, one in which there is South-South investment and cooperation to build out clean energy. The conventional narrative focuses primarily on North-South investment (from developed to developing country).
For grids that are not in the habit of being operated flexibly, the 24/7 quality of geothermal power is an attractive feature. It offers a way to satisfy baseload demand in a completely clean manner.
While geothermal is not a new technology, we are only scratching the surface of what is possible where.
The lessons
For me, there are two major takeaways.
First, in the noise of international climate negotiations, it can be easy to forget that the Global South already has clean energy leaders.
Second, Global South companies are leading the way in building out clean energy generation and utilising a pool of deep expertise.
A new nexus
While negative stories often get disproportionate media coverage, a silent revolution is ticking by, and you don't have to look too far to find it. It is our job to highlight these wins so that clean energy investors take notice and put deserving nations on the map when planning their next tranche of investments.
Its a great read. As you aptly mentioned, its high time Global South gets its due OR may be Global south should start driving this momentum and let the North know its worth
I love it. It's great to learn that Kenya is also helping its neighbors, south-south, as you say. We have a lot of geothermal here in California as well. It's able to provide energy to the grid at night, to help create that 24-hour clock of renewables being available. We are incentivized not to use energy (dishwashers, dryers) during high-use times (4 pm to 9 pm). Energy is cheaper after 9 pm, so I start up everything at that point.