The Geothermal Development Company is working out public-private partnerships to establish mobile wellhead power plants at its wells in Nakuru and Baringo counties.
This is meant to generate reliable and clean power at a cheaper rate.
Wellheads take the shape of a normal geothermal power plant, but in a smaller version.
While a geothermal power plant is run by steam piped from wells, a wellhead utilises steam from just a single well.
Once the main plant is fully constructed, the wellheads are removed and moved to different stations, so that steam from the wells can then feed the main plant.
GDC chief executive officer and managing director Paul Ngugi said generation of clean and reliable energy from wellheads would translate into cheaper electricity tariffs for Kenyans and reliable power supply to industries.
“This concept will enable us to generate more power from each individual well. The technology reduces well redundancies and prevents well failures. It involves tapping steam from wells that are undergoing tests or awaiting connection to permanent plants," he said.
"The technology not only helps to utilise the investment put into drilling the wells, which would otherwise be lying idle, but also yields benefits through early power generation.”
“We are seeking flexible ways of generating electricity. GDC is now exploring ways of encouraging investments in modular and mobile power plants,” Ngugi added.
The CEO explained that geothermal wellheads units are quick to instal and allow tapping of geothermal wells almost immediately after drilling compared with four to five years it takes to construct a conventional power plant.
“It takes a number of years to construct a single geothermal power plant, because it has to be fed by steam from several wells, which are often drilled and left open for years awaiting completion of the main plant," he said.
"We want to take advantage of single wells to generate power using the steam, which would otherwise have gone to waste while the main plant is being constructed.”
Addressing journalists in Nakuru, Ngugi said it costs more than Sh500,000 to drill a geothermal well adding that when it remains idle, it takes a long time to recover the huge cost, this notwithstanding that some of the money is borrowed at an interest from financial institutions.
The wellhead technology is usually a short-term measure and the wells that are used in the production of electricity are those undergoing testing or awaiting construction of permanent plants.
Wellhead power plants usually take about six months to construct compared to the larger plants that can take up to five years.
Ngugi said it takes a number of years to construct a single geothermal power plant, because it has to be fed by steam from several wells, which are often drilled and left open for years awaiting completion of the main plant.
Once the central power plant is constructed, the wellhead plants are relocated to other areas in need.
According to the CEO the mobile wellheads can generate power at a lower cost per megawatt and at a faster rate than standard geothermal projects.
Kenya’s demand for electricity is driven by the recent, rapid economic growth and industrialisation, which has created the need to accelerate the drilling of geothermal wells to tap into the resource potential and avoid the over-reliance on erratic hydroelectric power.
Ngugi said persistent drought has reduced the capacity of hydroelectric dams, leading to reliance on costly diesel-powered generators, pushing up energy bills.
Wellhead Technology connects wells with outputs of up to 15 megawatts. The module also allows for a combination of wells using short streamlines instead of the traditional long lines which are very costly and take much longer to construct.
The modules form clusters which generate power through the conventional mode of steam running turbines. The power is then directly fed into the grid.
Some of the advantages of Wellhead Technology, according to Ngugi, is immediate power supply to address its rising demand and reduced cost of power and power plant portability which taps into isolated and remote areas.
Other benefits are early return on investment as the technology has a significant advantage over the deployment of traditional power plants enabling the early supply of electricity and access to revenues earlier in the investment cycle.
