Kenya prepares a 100MW geothermal tender under rules that would charge for the steam
The Geothermal Development Company is readying a public-private partnership for the Paka field, with production slated to begin by 2028. Draft regulations published last year would introduce a royalty on geothermal steam and require community benefit-sharing in every licence application.
The Geothermal Development Company is preparing public-private partnership tenders including the 100MW Paka field, with production slated to begin by 2028, in a licensing environment the regulator has proposed to change.
Draft renewable energy resource regulations published by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority in 2025 would introduce a royalty on geothermal steam and require benefit-sharing provisions in licence applications, tying approvals to county and community participation. Charging for the steam changes what a developer is buying, since the resource has carried no price at the wellhead until now.
The regulatory impact statement accompanying the drafts is direct about the current position, identifying unclear permitting and weak reporting as gaps that will delay projects and limit local supplier development if unresolved.
Kenya generates close to half its electricity from geothermal, more than any other country on the continent. The Olkaria complex continues to expand and a 35MW station at Menengai is due to become fully operational this year. Nairobi designated Olkaria a Special Economic Zone in 2025, anchored on KenGen’s Green Energy Park, to bring manufacturers onto the field and sell them direct heat alongside firm power.
Ethiopia holds comparable resource under a different model. All operating plants sit with Ethiopian Electric Power, and private independent producers are only beginning to advance. The 50MW Tulu Moye project, expandable to 150MW, would be the country’s first grid-ready independently developed geothermal station, and Corbetti signed an agreement for up to 500MW in 2015.
The African Development Bank estimates the Great Rift Valley holds around 20GW of geothermal potential.
Photos: Unsplash
