Kenya:

KenGen Will Seek $745 Million to Fund Geothermal Well Drilling (Bloomberg)

Kenya Electricity Generating Co. (KEGC), the East African nation’s biggest power producer, said it will seek “concessionary funding” for the $745 million needed to drill 209 geothermal wells over the next four years.

The company, based in Nairobi, plans to drill 168 wells from 2012 to 2014 and 41 wells in the 2015-16 period, Managing Director Eddy Njoroge told reporters today in the capital.

KenGen, as it’s known, expects to produce 585 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources by 2018, he said. The company is also targeting production of 80 megawatts of thermal power and 120 megawatts of wind energy by 2014, Njoroge said.

“KenGen has in total acquired seven drilling rigs to enable it meet the ambitious targets,” the company said in a statement handed to reporters.

KenGen yesterday reported first-half profit jumped 33 percent to 1.19 billion shillings ($14.4 million) as revenue increased to 7.8 billion shillings from 6.6 billion shillings. The company currently has an installed capacity of 1,185 megawatts, Njoroge said.