Kenya is endowed with vast high-temperature geothermal resources that are largely untapped. These resources are located within the Kenya rift, which forms part of the eastern branch of the East African Rift System (EARS) that is driven by extension and thinning of the African Plate. Rifting commenced during the Oligocene and continued through the Miocene to the Holocene. Main geothermal fields in Kenya are Olkaria, Eburru, Menengai, and Paka. The Greater Olkaria geothermal field has over 300 wells drilled, while six wells have been drilled in Eburru, 50 wells at Menengai, and 16 wells at Paka. There are other exploration wells drilled at Korosi and Silali. The main production field is Olkaria, with 920.5 MW of installed capacity (94.6% of the total) in its five sections (Olkaria I–V), followed by Menengai (49.5 MW), and Eburru (2.4 MW). The total geothermal potential of the country is estimated at more than 7000 MW. The rapid geothermal development between 2006 and 2023 in Kenya was favored by the enactment of the right governmental policies, including feed-in tariff for small-size geothermal projects, fiscal incentives, the presence of a supportive regulatory environment including the Energy Act 2019, and other supports.
Elsevier, Geothermal Power Generation, 2025, Pages 863-891
