Geothermal Development Company – GDC Description
Geothermal Development Company – GDC is wholly owned by the Government of Kenya. It was formed in 2009 to fast – track development of geothermal resources and as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) to accelerate the development of geothermal resources in Kenya. Geothermal is mainly sourced underground and environmental friendly source of electricity. The formation of GDC was based on Government’s policy on energy in Sessional paper No. 4 of 2004 and Energy Act No.12 of 2006, which separated players in the sector for efficiency.
Geothermal Development Company – GDC is expected to expedite search and development of geothermal energy, which started in 1957. So far, about 209MW of geothermal energy is produced in the country, against a potential of 7,000MW to 10,000MW. The quest to develop geothermal energy is in line With Vision 2030, under which the Government expects to generate 15,000MW, 5,000MW of which will come from geothermal.
Development of geothermal will reduce Kenya’s reliance on hydro-power, which is prone to erratic weather patterns. Geothermal Development Company – GDC is expected to drill 1,400 steam wells to provide steam for generation of 5,000MW of geothermal power by 2030.
Some of the sites where the company is already harnessing or expected to explore geothermal energy are in Rift Valley, Homa Hills in Nyanza, Mwananyamala at the Coast and Nyambene Ridges. In 2011, GDC struck a considerable amount of geothermal steam in Menengai, Nakuru town, Kenya. The Menengai Well One was sunk 2,200 metres deep within three months and has a potential to produce 10 megawatts of power.
Geothermal Development Company – GDC is further working on Bogoria-Silali geothermal complex. The company will invest $3.1 billion (Kshs270 billion) for development of the first phase of the complex.