Kenya seeks investment for geothermal energy sector

Kenya is seeking to promote private investment into the geothermal energy sector through review of policies, an official said Thursday.

Principal Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Joseph Njoroge, told journalists that under the new regulations, private sector will be given land concessions to explore for geothermal steam.

"The aim is to enable private sector to complement government exploration efforts so as increase amount of geothermal electricity production in the country," Njoroge said during the Kenya Renewable Energy Conference.

The conference brought together 100 representatives from local and foreign energy firms to discuss investment opportunities in Kenya's renewable energy sector.

According to the Ministry of Energy, over 90 percent of Kenya's electricity production comes from renewable sources.

"Geothermal (energy) is now a significant source of energy as approximately 50 percent of all electricity produced from renewable energy comes from geothermal sources," Njoroge said.

He said Kenya had only exploited less than five percent of its geothermal resources partly due to "a deficit in financing of geothermal projects."

The government plans to cooperate with the private sector to ensure more electricity generation from geothermal energy, the official said. Endit