KENGEN
ENERGY
Decreasing the country ’ s reliance on hydro power would likely be beneficial , because lower rain levels have decreased hydro power output . Drought can be a big problem when it occurs because river flows often reduce to a trickle . Climate change is believed by some to intensify droughts so shifting away from hydro power is probably a good decision .
Albert Mugo was appointed as Managing Director and CEO of KenGen in January 2014 , having previously served for close to six years as its Business Development and Strategy Director . His first task was to complete development of 280MW of geothermal power plants in order to help the country reduce reliance on expensive thermal power and weather dependent hydropower generation . A year into his job he had grounds for considerable satisfaction when on 19 February , Olkaria I units four and five were inaugurated by Paul Kagame , President of Rwanda , accompanied by his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta . The inauguration of the two units marked the final phase of the 280MW geothermal power project at Olkaria . Mugo estimates that Olkaria now saves the country $ 273 million ( about Sh24 billion ) a year compared with the cost of thermal generation . But Mugo ’ s task is far from done . He now aims to increase the installed capacity from the current 2,000MW to 5,000MW over the next three years . “ Our strategy now is to push forward with the projects that we have lined up , and in the
Side view of the 140MW Ikaria IV power plant
The 140MW Olkaria IV power plant commissioned in October 2014 by president Uhuru Kenyatta
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