Globeleq and Geothermal Development Company (GDC) broke ground on the development of the 35 MW Menengai geothermal project in Kenya.
The USD108 million greenfield project is Globeleq’s first-ever geothermal plant. GDC would supply steam to the project for conversion to electricity under a 25 year project implementation and steam supply agreement. Once the plant is operational, electricity will be sold to Kenya Power, the national distribution company, under a power purchase agreement for the same timeframe. Globeleq expects the Menengai project to reach financial close within the next two to three weeks, subject to the remaining conditions precedent being fulfilled by the Kenyan government. Toyota Tsusho Corporation from Japan is the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor to the project. Fuji Electric will be manufacturing and supplying the steam turbine and generator. Globeleq will operate and maintain the power plant once it reaches commercial operations in 2025.