Kenya - 27th - 30th March 2023
Mission to Kenya on geothermal for Italian delegation
Kenya, 30th March 2023 – UNIDO ITPO Italy, the Italian Investment and Technology Promotion Office of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, coordinated a four-day mission to Kenya for an Italian business and institutional delegation in the geothermal sector. This initiative, which took place from 27th to 30th March 2023, was part of the project “Fostering International Partnerships between companies and/or institutions operating in the Energy and Environment sectors” (#FIPEE), funded by the Italian Ministry of Environment and Energy Security (MASE) and implemented by UNIDO ITPO Italy.
On the first day of mission, the “Italy-Kenya Business & Investment Forum on Geothermal” – organized by UNIDO ITPO Italy in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum of Kenya, the Geothermal Association of Kenya (GAK) and Unione Geotermica Italiana (UGI) – was successfully held with more than 120 participants at the Kawi Complex Auditorium in Nairobi. Notably, the Forum featured the participation and welcome remarks of multiple high-level guests, technical interventions from relevant experts, company presentations and networking sessions, promoting the development of new synergies and collaborations in the field between the private and public sectors of both countries.
The day after the Forum, the visits of the Italian delegation to several key geothermal sites in Kenya started in Menengai, at the 6 MW well and project infrastructure of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) of Kenya and upcoming 35 MW plant by Sosian Energy, also experiencing different uses for geothermal energy including greenhouse farming, aquaculture and milk pasteurization.
The mission continued on 29th March at the Akiira geothermal site, where the Italian delegates had the opportunity to understand first-hand the local challenges related to the recovery and development of two deep geothermal wells, and at the Oserian Development Company, with its more than 250 hectares of greenhouses for the cultivation and distribution of flowers by the in-house company Bohemian Flowers.
On the concluding day of mission, the Italian delegates visited the Olkaria Geothermal Spa, followed by a presentation by the team of the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) about their activities in terms of renewable energy, and finally with the tour of KenGen's geothermal power plants Olkaria I and V sites, the latter generating 170+ MW transmitted through and on-site 220 kV substation.
By promoting international cooperation and sharing know-how and best practices in the field, UNIDO ITPO Italy's mission to Kenya contributed to maximize the impact of geothermal energy power plants at local, national and global level, in order to harness the huge Kenyan potential in the geothermal, renewable energy sector and beyond, toward an Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development within the country, in line with the mandate of UNIDO and the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
