Geothermal helps Kenya to cut power imports
View over Lake Nakuru, Kenya (source: flickr/ crgreene, creative commons)
Alexander Richter
21 Ağu 2015
Thanks to the country's new geothermal power plants, Kenya has been able to see "a 51.7 per cent drop" in power imports from neighbouring countries.
The new installed geothermal power in Kenya has helped the country cut their need to import costly electricity from neighbouring countries.
According to local sources and data from the country’s Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) indicates “that Kenya imported 27.97 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) from the neighbouring countries including Ethiopia in the first half of the year, down from 57.91 million kWh in same period last year, a 51.7 per cent drop.”
This is great news, not only because the price of power goes down, allowing for the economy to be more competitive but also because it helps the country save money and be less dependant on foreign countries to satisfy the internal demand for electricity.
More development is needed since the national government plans to “increase the number of customers from 2.8 million to eight million in five years translating to 70 per cent access to electricity from the current 32 per cent.”
Geothermal is most likely the best answer for Kenya´s ambitions and future.
Source: All Africa
