Ormat Technologies Inc.’s (ORA) international unit won a contract to build and operate the first well-head generator at the Menengai geothermal field in Kenya, which holds potential capacity of at least 1,600 megawatts.
The so-called modular power-generation unit, which will provide 5 megawatts to 10 megawatts, will start operating by August 2013 and the government will assume ownership after 15 years, said Silas Simiyu, managing director of Kenya’s state-run Geothermal Development Co. The cost to set up the facility will be about $10 million to $20 million, Simiyu said in an interview today in Nairobi, the capital.