Toshiba Corporation has announced that the largest geothermal power complex in Kenya, Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant, has started commercial operation.

The official opening ceremony was held at the site on February 19, in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta and government officials.

Kenya Electricity Generating Company had awarded a full turnkey contract for Olkaria I and IV to a consortium of Korea’s Hyundai Engineering Company and Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation in 2011, said a statement from Toshiba.
 
Toshiba, selected by Hyundai Engineering to provide key equipment, supplied four 70-MW turbines and generators for the plant in 2013. Olkaria IV started commercial operation in September 2014, followed by Olkaria I in January this year, it added.

Kenya’s economic growth is spurring demand for power. The government has responded with a comprehensive blueprint for development, Vision 2030, which currently includes provision for boosting Kenya’s electricity generating capacity from 1,664 MW last year to 17,500 MW by 2030, said the statement from Toshiba.

The construction of the Olkaria complex is a key part of the vision, and it now accounts for approaching 20 per cent of Kenya’s total generating capacity, it added.

A world leader in geothermal power, Toshiba accounts for 24 per cent of total installed capacity and offers a geothermal product line-up that extends from 1 to over 100 megawatts output capacities.-TradeArabia News Service