Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through their team of experts from West Japan Engineering Consultants (West JEC) undertook a tour of GDC’s Menengai Geothermal Project on February 8, 2023. They visited the powerplant site and the Steam Gathering System (SGS) to identify sampling points for the connected wells.
The tour was part of JICA’s second mission at GDC on capacity strengthening for geothermal steam supply and management. The mission was meant to discuss the execution of well discharge tests during the supply of geothermal steam to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for power generation. The mission is part of an ongoing support program discussion between JICA and GDC.
The team also held round table discussions with GDC which centered on steam supply to the IPP, a plan for tracer flow test to measure mass flow rate and enthalpy, pressure monitoring, chemical sampling during flow test and environmental issues. GDC was represented by a team drawn from Geothermal Resource Management (GRM) and Geothermal Resource Assessment (GRA).
Another stakeholder KfW, the German State-owned development bank that has been funding the Baringo – Silali Geothermal Project, alongside the Government of Kenya, visited GDC’s project in North Rift to undertake an Environmental and Social (E&S) Compliance audit.
The KfW team was accompanied by the bank’s consultant firm. An environmental audit is an opportunity to identify environmental risks and liabilities, ensure legislative compliance and enable informed decisions.
The GDC team was led by Gabriel Wetangula, Manager – Safety, Health & Environment. Other departments involved included Community Relations (CR), Drilling and Infrastructure and Geothermal Resource Development (GRD), Corporate Communication and Marketing. Hospitality and security teams also supported the activity.
A concluding meeting held at GDC Headquarters at Kawi House, Nairobi was chaired by GDC MD & CEO Eng. Jared O. Othieno, and attended by the KfW team, consultants and GDC management.