Status Under construction | Commission date 2016 (Expected) | |
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Nameplate capacity 35 megawatts (47,000 hp) | ||
The Menengai I Geothermal Power Station is a 35 megawatts (47,000 hp) geothermal power plant under construction in Kenya.
Contents
Location
The facility is located in the Menengai Crater, approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi), north of the city of Nakuru, where the county headquarters re located. This is approximately 185 kilometres (115 mi), by road, northwest of Nairobi, the capital and largest city in Kenya. The coordinates of Menengai Crater are: 0°11'35.0"S, 36°04'12.0"E (Latitude:-0.193048; Longitude:36.070000).
Overview
Geothermal Development Company (GDC), a company wholly owned by the Kenyan government has drilled geothermal wells in the Menengai Crater, whose total capacity can generate up to 105 megawatts (141,000 hp) of electric energy. GDC will sell the steam to three independent power producers (IPPs) to build three geothermal power stations, each with capacity of 35 megawatts (47,000 hp). The power stations are:
- Menengai I Geothermal Power Station - Owned by Orpower Twenty Two
- Menengai II Geothermal Power Station - Owned by Quantum Power East Africa
- Menengai III Geothermal Power Station - Owned by Sosian Energy
This power station uses new geothermal technology jointly developed by Toshiba Corporation and Ormat Technologies Inc to harness more energy from the steam supplid to the plant by increasing efficiency.
Ownership
The power station is owned by a consortium (Orpower Twenty Two), whose shareholding is illustrated in the table below: