KENYA – Sosian Energy, one of the companies selected to develop power plants in the Menengai geothermal field, has secured a financial partner for its project—the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).
The Nairobi-based company has successfully completed the financing for its 35 MW geothermal power plant in Nakuru County. DBSA provided the sole lender with a US$68 million loan.
In August 2023, Sosian connected its geothermal power plant to Kenya’s electricity grid. The company sources the steam required to operate the plant from the Kenyan state-owned Geothermal Development Company (GDC), which has drilled several geothermal wells at the project site.
Under the terms of their agreement, Sosian Energy will pay KES 1.7 billion (US$14.5 million) annually for the next 25 years to GDC through its special purpose company, Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power. The electricity generated by the Menengai III plant will be sold to the state-owned Kenya Power.
According to DBSA, Sosian’s geothermal project will significantly impact Kenya’s energy landscape.
“With a production cost of $0.08/kWh, the plant will be one of Kenya’s most profitable energy sources. Furthermore, as a renewable energy facility, the plant will operate without emissions, contributing to global climate objectives,” stated the development bank, headquartered in Midrand, South Africa.
The Menengai geothermal field, with an estimated potential of between 70 and 140 MW, will help Kenya further diversify its electricity mix.
The East African nation already boasts one of the most diversified electricity portfolios on the continent, with 86% of its power generated from renewable sources, including wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, and biomass.
In related developments, EcoCloud and Abu Dhabi-based technology firm G42 signed a memorandum of understanding in March to build a data centre that will run purely on geothermal energy.
The facility’s initial planned capacity is 100 MW, potentially expanding to 1 GW. Data centres, which require vast amounts of electricity—especially with the growing use of power-hungry AI-based applications—are under pressure globally to provide green solutions to mitigate their environmental impact.
Geothermal power, harnessed from superheated pools of water and steam created by magma flows beneath the Earth’s surface, offers a fully renewable and reliable ‘baseload’ electricity supply, unlike solar or wind power, which can only offer intermittent supply.
This makes geothermal energy ideal for powering data centres, ensuring continuous and sustainable operations.
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