GDC - Geothermal Development Company Ltd

Kenya is one of the leading countries globally with significant geothermal resources. The Government of Kenya through the Ministry of Energy has already undertaken significant investment in developing this sector. This includes supporting scientific research, drilling and the generation of electricity.

However, geothermal development has been slow over the years due to the lack of private sector participation. One major challenge for investors has been high upfront risks and enormous capital investment.

In order to facilitate investor entry into the geothermal sector, GDC will undertake exploration and drilling for all fields  and provide steam to investors to mitigate these upfront risks to accelerate investor entry into the geothermal development sector.

Current Private Sector Participation

Current private investors include Orpower4 Inc and Oserian Development Company (ODC). OrPower4 has an installed capacity of 55MW which is connected to the national grid. Oserian Development Company operates  two binary power plants  each with a capicity of 2MW which supply power to its facilities. Oserian also uses the geothermal resources for heating, refrigeration, use of carbon dioxide  and hydrogen sulphide to enhance plant growth, fumigation and sterilization of greenhouses.

Alternative Uses

Alternative geothermal usage in Kenya can be applied to:

1. Dairy industry - refrigeration and pasteurization of milk products
2. Grain Silos - drying of grains (wheat & maize) and other farm products e.g. pyrethrum
3. Space heating - green houses and hotels
4. Industry - production of industrial sulphur, treatment of hides and skins and honey processing,
5. Water heating for fish and crocodile farming, and spas/swimming pool