page_title: Renewable energy in Kenya
section_title: Geothermal power
hierarchical_section_title: Renewable energy in Kenya / Geothermal power
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Arbeiter am Geothermiekraftwerk Olkaria, Kenia English: Workers at Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant, Kenya
context_page_description: The renewable energy sector in Kenya is among the most active in Africa. In Kenya, investment grew from virtually zero in 2009 to US$1.3 billion in 2010 across technologies such as wind, geothermal, small-scale hydro and biofuels. This is not saying that Kenya was never active in the renewable energy sector. Kenya is Africa's first geothermal power producer and leads Africa in the number of solar power systems installed per capita. It is still the largest producer of geothermal power in Africa today at 200 MW with only one other African country producing geothermal power, Ethiopia.In 2011, Kenya was also the first country in Africa to open a carbon exchange.
context_section_description: Currently geothermal energy accounts for 20% of total installed capacity of the Kenyan grid. Kenya is the first African country to tap geothermal power and the largest producer of geo-energy, harnessing power from steam released by hot rocks beneath the Rift valley. The abundant sun and wind are also being harnessed in a variety of projects: of these, the Lake Turkana project is the most audacious, both because of the scale and the location. Kenya has the capacity to produce 10 GW of geothermal energy.
  Geothermal has a prominent place in Kenya's overarching development plans. These include the Vision 2030, the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), and the current ‘5000+ MW in 40 months initiative’. Geothermal power has the potential to provide reliable, cost-competitive, baseload power with a small carbon footprint, and reduces vulnerability to climate by diversifying power supply away from hydropower, which currently provides the majority of Kenya's electricity. Kenya has set out ambitious targets for geothermal energy. It aims to expand its geothermal power production capacity to 5,000 MW by 2030, with a medium-term target of installing 1,887 MW by 2017. As of October 2014, Kenya has an installed geothermal capacity of approximately 340 MW. Although there is significant political will and ambition, reaching these ambitions is a major challenge
caption: Worker at Olkaria Geothermal Plant
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