Challenges of Human Capacity Building: GDC’s Experience

Abstract

The East African Rift System, which is estimated at having over 15000MWe of clean geothermal energy, covers eleven countries among them being the Republic of Kenya. The development of this high and largely untapped resource has been very slow in Kenya. The country’s first 15 MWe unit of the 45 MWe electric power generating plant was commissioned in 1981. It has been operating since then and has proven reliable and economical, running at 98% availability (Ng’ang’a, 1998). The total installed geothermal capacity in the country currently stands at 128 MWe. Demand for electricity has been on the rise and future growth projection in Kenya requires that urgent initiatives are undertaken to ensure electric energy capacity addition is adequate to cover this demand. One key initiative undertaken by the Government of Kenya is the establishment of Geothermal Development Company Ltd (GDC) as a special purpose vehicle to accelerate the development of geothermal energy resources in the country. GDC, incorporated on the 2nd of December 2008, robustly began operations in Mid 2009 with the appointment of key members of the top management. With the entrance of GDC into the Kenyan energy sector, there is need, more than ever, to build capacity in order to adequately and effectively harness this environmentally friendly resource – the geothermal resource.