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{
    "id": 424116,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/424116/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 180,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We introduced or created the GDC in the year 2010. It was created as a result of a very painful experience. You remember there was prolonged drought in this country which cut our hydro power production by half. We used to produce about 700 megawatts, but due to the prolonged drought our hydro capacity came down to about 350 megawatts and we were forced to import very expensive power in the name of high speed diesel generators. It almost bankrupted our Treasury because it depleted our foreign reserves. It became very clear to us that the issue of energy security and energy independence has the right to rely on local energy sources. There is no way you can control international prices of oil which we use for geothermal generation. The geopolitics is beyond our control. The only way we can be sure about reliable and cost effective power is power that we are in control. Geothermal energy is abundant in this country, it is available, it is indigenous and it is green. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, it is estimated that around the Rift Valley alone, we can generate up to 10,000 megawatts of very clean power from geothermal sources. That is why we created the GDC as a special purpose vehicle for generating geothermal power in the country. There are certain challenges in geothermal. For instance there is what we call exploration risk; the risk of you sinking a lot of money on something which you have not seen is very real. Although we have an average of 80 per cent success, the remaining 20 per cent can be very risky. There is also the use of geothermal oil; one geothermal oil costs a minimum of Kshs400,000. We had to get the Government to absorb some of that risk because the private sector can be very shy when it comes to investments in these areas. There is also the question of high head costs where you spend so much money before you can generate a single megawatt of geothermal power and so you require massive investment. Without a committed government willing to put in public resources, it is almost impossible for us to open up geothermal fields. That is why I am supporting the recommendation by the Committee that the Government continues to invest in all geothermal fields like Suswa because without that commitment, those fields will never be opened. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, the GDC has done extremely well and we are happy that we got one man called Dr. Cyrus Simiyu. His PhD is in geothermal studies. This is a man who understands geothermal like the back of his hand. He has a very educated team and a training programme in the United Nations University and sometimes the trainings are done in Naivasha. Our people are now getting very well trained and even giving foreign assistance to other countries like Rwanda and the Comoros Island. So, that team has done extremely well and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for making us proud in the manner in which they have approached geothermal exploration and production with a lot of professionalism. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our international partners who have been able to put money together to support geothermal development in this country. We are now producing 280 megawatts in Olkaria at a cost of Kshs56 billion. That money has been put together by JICA, China Exchange, the European Union and the African Development Bank, among others. Without these development partners, it would have been impossible for us to develop the geothermal power plants in Olkaria. Even as we are The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}