The Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station, also known as Olkaria I Geothermal Power Plant is a geothermal power station in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...

, with an installed capacity of .

Location

The facility is located in the

Hell's Gate National Park Hell's Gate National Park lies south of Lake Naivasha in Kenya, north west of Nairobi. Hell's Gate National 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 wa ...

along with its sister stations, Olkaria II and Olkaria III. This location lies in Olkaria, in Nakuru County, on the eastern edge of the

Eastern Rift Valley The Gregory Rift is the eastern branch of the East African Rift fracture system. The rift is being caused by the separation of the Somali plate from the Nubian plate, driven by a thermal plume. Although the term is sometimes used in the narrow s ...

, approximately , by road, southwest of Naivasha, the nearest large town. Olkaria is approximately , by road, northwest of

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper h ...

Overview

Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station is one in a series of six geothermal power stations, clustered in the Olkaria area in Nakuru County. Four of the stations Olkaria I, Olkaria II, Olkaria III and Olkaria IV were operational, as of September 2017. Olkaria V is under construction and Olkaria VI is planned for 2021.

History

The Olkaria I Power Station first started operation in 1981 running one Mitsubishi turbine with a generation capacity of 15MW. In 1982 and 1985, two more turbines identical to the first were commissioned at the facility, bringing the total generation capacity to 45MW. As of January 2015 unit 4 and 5 with a combined installed capacity of 140 Megawatts were inaugurated. This brings the total installed capacity of Olkaria I to 185 Megawatts. In March 2016, the government of Kenya borrowed KSh9.53 billion (US$95 million), from the

Japan International Cooperation Agency The is a governmental agency that delivers the bulk of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for the government of Japan. It is chartered with assisting economic and social growth in developing countries, and the promotion of international co ...

(JICA) to refurbish turbines 1, 2 and 3 at Olkaria I. The works includes increasing the combined capacity of the three turbines from 45MW to 50.7MW. The rehabilitation and upgrade works are expected to last until 2021. This will increase capacity at this power station from to . In December 2018, Kenya Electricity Generating Company broke ground for the construction of Unit 6 of Olkaria I Geothermal Power Station, with capacity of 83 megawatts. Completion of this unit was expected in 2021, bringing total capacity at this geothermal station to . Unit 6 of Olkaria I, was commercially commissioned in July 2022.

Ownership

Olkaria I Power Station is owned by KenGen, a

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- listed company, in which the government of Kenya maintains 70 percent shareholding, the remaining 30 percent being held by institutional and private investors.

References

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External links