The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) has been cleared to start feasibility studies on a 300 megawatt (MW) geothermal power project in Suswa, Narok County.
Disclosures from the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Unit show that GDC got the nod in March this year, paving the way for studies to establish the commercial viability of the project.
GDC targets to tap investors who will develop geothermal plants by June 2027, starting with an initial 50MW to 100MW, boosting Kenya Power’s efforts to meet fast-rising demand for power from homes and industries.
Kenya has, in the past three years, been forced to heavily lean on Ethiopia and Uganda to shore up supply and meet rising demand for electricity.
Reliance on the two neighbours has exposed Kenya to the risk of a crisis in case of major breakdowns of hydro plants or severe drought that can hit power production.
‘The Project Concept Note was approved in March 2026 for the project to progress to Feasibility Study,’ the PPP Unit says in the disclosures.
Development plan
The project will entail drilling of 34 geothermal wells, including re-injection wells. Investors will develop the steam field for 10 years, followed by 25 years of power production.
Electricity from geothermal sources is the third-cheapest, with a kilowatt-hour priced at an average of Sh9.48 in the year to June 2025, underscoring why the State is keen to tap the resource and boost electricity supply without steep price increments.
‘Suswa is a very strategic geothermal prospect. We plan to onboard within the next financial year,’ Stephen Busieney, the acting chief executive of GDC, said.
The Suswa fields are estimated to hold at least 750MW of geothermal power, which will be developed in phases, starting with the 300MW.
Geothermal is the country’s main source of power, and the State is keen to tap reserves in Olkaria, Menengai and Suswa along the Rift Valley.
Geothermal power plants supplied 3,127.76 gigawatt-hours (GWh) to the grid in the six months to December last year, reflecting a dominant 40.06 percent ahead of hydro at 1,745.68 GWh (22.36 percent).
Increased generation of geothermal power is central to easing Kenya’s reliance on Ethiopia and Uganda to boost supply at a time when demand has significantly grown.
For example, Kenya recorded six peak electricity demand instances in 2025 alone, driven by a spike in connections and increased demand from industries.
Development of the Olkaria, Menengai and Suswa fields is part of the State’s plan to more than double geothermal capacity from the current 940MW to 1,824MW by 2030 as part of the transition to a 100 percent clean national grid.