In attendance at the ceremony were the Deputy President (DP) Rigathi Gachagua, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, Department of Energy Principal Secretary Alex Wachira, H.E. Hon Susak Khika of Nakuru County, British High Commissioner to Kenya Jane Marriott OBE, and the GDC Board Chair Hon. Walter Osebe Nyambati.
The USD 108 million Menengai project will be Globeleq’s first geothermal plant. Menengai is a greenfield geothermal project and part of the first phase of the wider Menengai complex, which is the second large-scale geothermal field being developed in Kenya after Olkaria. Steam will be supplied to the project by Geothermal Development Company (GDC).
Globeleq is a UK-based company supported by British International Investment. In late 2022, Globeleq signed a financing agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) and Finnfund for a USD72 million debt funding for the Menengai geothermal project. Development in Menengai is being done via subsidiary Globeleq Geothermal Kenya Limited.
Sosian Energy had previously already constructed another 35-MW geothermal power plant in Menengai. The final preparations are ongoing for its commissioning.
“As one of the countries most affected by climate change, we are determined to attain our target of 100 percent transition to green energy; it is clean, reliable, affordable, and sustainable,” said Rigathi during the ceremony.
“The de-risking concept, underwritten by the Government of Kenya through GDC, is a critical model to accelerate the development of geothermal energy in Kenya and lower the cost of power for investors and households,” said Hon. Davis Chirchir. GDC has conducted drilling of 43 wells in Menengai, thus taking the upfront risks of developing the geothermal project.
“In just 13 years, we have turned Menengai from a jungle into a complex that is promising Kenya’s green future,” commented Hon. Walter Osebe Nyambati.
