Kenya's best option for electrification is geothermal energy

The African country Kenya still has major problems with electrification of its rural areas. It has been estimated that only one in ten Kenyans in the rural areas of the country has access to electricity, and this situation will have to rapidly change if Kenya wants to improve its economic standard in years to come.

Geothermal energy certainly looks like one of the best options to solve this issue. Kenya has been using its geothermal energy resources for three decades so this is an energy source that has managed to build some tradition in the country. Unlike hydropower, geothermal energy is more dependable because hydropower, that is currently the number one source of electricity in Kenya, depends heavily on the amount of rainfall.

In 2013, geothermal energy generated around 770 MW of electricity in Kenya. The potential is lot higher because country has dozen of sites that could be used to harness geothermal resources such as Suswa, Longonot, Olkaria, Menengai, Lake Baringo and Lake Magadi that could generate more than 5000 MW of geothermal electricity.

Kenya's government must find the right way to attract investments and utilize geothermal energy on grand scale. Not just because Kenya is rich with geothermal energy resources but also because geothermal energy is cost-effective renewable energy solution that doesn't depend on weather and climate like for instance hydropower does.

Fourteen years ago Kenya's Government instituted the Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) that ranked geothermal as one of the most affordable clean energy options. Now it's up to the country to go big with geothermal. More geothermal power would mean more electricity and more electricity would certainly give Kenyan economy a push they so desperately need.

Geothermal energy is clean energy source that is readily available in this African country. Harnessing geothermal energy is certainly the right step in the direction of Kenya's electrification.