Kenya inks more than $4 billion in deals to advance geothermal sector

Launch of the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative at the COP28 in Dubai (source: Masdar)

Carlo Cariaga 4 Dec 2023

Presided by Kenyan President William Ruto in collaboration with the COP28 Presidency and several other African nations, the Africa Green Industrialization Initiative (AGII) was launched along the sidelines of the COP28 along with more than $4 billion in deals of new geothermal development or utilizing geothermal resources in Kenya.

The deals include:

• $1.5 billion for a green fertilizer project with Australian firm Fortescue Future Industries (FFI);
• $1 billion for the Suswa geothermal project with the Indonesian project backed by Pertamina Geothermal Energy with the support of UAE-base Masdar;
• $800 million for the Paka geothermal project by UAE-based AMEA Power and the Geothermal Development Company;
• $110 million for the 35-MW geothermal power plant of Globeleq in Menengai;
• $600 million for a data center in Olkaria followed by geothermal energy in partnership with EcoCloud.

Additional deals include:

• $270 million for a sustainable agricultural project on 15,000 hectares in the Lake Basin region by United Green and Kenya Development Corp;
• $568 million loan to launch a Clean Energy Supply Chain expansion initiative to support clean energy initiatives in developing countries with the United States, Brazil, and India.

The growth of the geothermal sector in Kenya has been nothing short of impressive in the last few years, and this handful of deals with only serve to accelerate it even further. In July 2024, the Geothermal Association of Kenya will be hosting the Kenya Geothermal Congress in Nairobi, providing a platform for information and collaboration between geothermal developers, equipment manufacturers, suppliers, consultants, policymakers, academia, and financial institutions.

Source: Capital News