Kenya's KenGen starts testing new 83.3-MW geothermal plant

Kenyan utility Kenya Electricity Generating Company Plc (KenGen) announced this week that it had finalised the construction of the 83.3-MW Olkaria I Unit 6 geothermal power plant, and started preparations to connect the facility to the domestic grid.

The milestone came after Japan’s Fuji Electric Co Ltd (TYO:6504), the turbine manufacturer for the project, and project contractor Marubeni Corp (TYO:8002) delivered full steam to the power plant, KenGen said.

The plant is now undergoing reliability testing to confirm its output ahead of the commercial operation date (COD), which is expected by June 2022.

With power from the unit 6, KenGen will raise the installed capacity of its geothermal plants to 793 MW from the current 713 MW. The share of geothermal power in the utility’s generation mix will grow to 42%, it said.

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