Economic Potential of the Untapped Opportunities for Direct Uses of Geothermal Energy Resources in Kenya

Abstract

Kenya is endowed with vast geothermal resources. Studies have estimated that the geothermal resource potential in Kenya is about 10,000MW of electric energy. So far, Kenya has tapped about 660MWe of geothermal electrical energy and is currently ranked at position 7 globally in geothermal electricity generation. Unfortunately, there is limited utilization of the country’s geothermal energy potential for direct use applications despite a big potential. This paper discusses the numerous untapped opportunities for direct use of the geothermal resource potential in the country and their economic potential if they are tapped. The paper shows that there is a big potential for direct uses of geothermal energy in Kenya that include green-house heating and fumigation across the country especially along the rift valley, recreation and spa services, water harvesting, mineral extraction, vegetable and fruit dehydration, cereals drying and medicinal purposes among others. The paper shows that there are some small scale direct use application of geothermal energy in some unstructured manner and presents that there is a huge economic opportunity that remains untapped. The paper concludes that the huge untapped potential for geothermal direct uses is a sleeping economic power that should be tapped to spur economy of the country. The paper demonstrates the economic potential in fruit and vegetable dehydration, bitumen production and hot water supply as a case point. It is seen that these direct use applications can make huge savings on the economy of the country besides being source of revenue and employment.