The Akiira One Geothermal Power Station, is a proposed

geothermal power Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...

plant in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community.

Location

The facility is located in the Greater Olkaria Geothermal Area, about , by road, south of the existing

Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station The Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station, also known as Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power station in Kenya, with an installed capacity of . Location The facility is located in the Hell's Gate National Park along with its si ...

, and approximately , northwest of Nairobi, Kenya's capital and largest city.

Overview

Centum Investments, a Kenyan investment company, in conjunction with three other non-Kenyan entities, jointly plan to construct the Akiira Geothermal Power Station at a projected cost of US$300 million, using

Akiira Geothermal Limited Akiira Geothermal Limited (AGL), is an electric energy generating company in Kenya. The company owns and will build and operate Akiira One Geothermal Power Station, a proposed , power station in Kenya. Overview AGL is a special purpose vehicle ...

, the special-purpose company they jointly own. The power station will be developed in phases, with the first 70 megawatts coming on-line by December 2018 and the next 70 megawatts added to the national grid at a later date. In August 2015, Akiira Geothermal Limited signed a power purchase agreement with

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 P ...

, at a cost of 9.23 US cents per kilowatt hour.

Ownership

Akiira One Geothermal Power Station is owned by Akiira Geothermal Limited, a Kenyan limited liability company owned by Centum Investment Company Limited and three other non-Kenyan companies. The shareholding in Akiira Geothermal Limited is as depicted in the table below:

Construction funding

The total construction bill is budgeted at US $300 million (KSh30 billion). Of that, 30 percent will be sourced from shareholders while the remaining 70 percent will be borrowed from Standard Bank. Akiira has already received a KSh86 million grant from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in October 2014, as part of President Obama’s Power Africa programme. In January 2018, the

European Investment Bank The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the European Union's investment bank and is owned by the EU Member States. It is one of the largest supranational lenders in the world. The EIB finances and invests both through equity and debt solutions ...

(EIB), offered to lend €155 million (KSh19.5 billion) on commercial terms, to fund the construction.

References

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External links