| Abstract |
Despite the huge success in electricity generation in Kenya, there is limited direct use applications of the country’s vast geothermal energy potential. Studies have shown that Kenya has thermal energy capacity of 22.40 MWt, an annual energy use of 50.70 GWh/year with a capacity factor of 0.26 but boasts of few successful direct use applications compared to other parts of the world. The Oserian Greenhouses using geothermal resource for the cut flower farming and the geothermal spas in Olkaria and Bogoria areas are the most successful direct use applications. However, KenGen is setting up an industrial park within the Olkaria Geothermal area to utilize available and abundant geothermal resources for industrial purposes to tap environmental, economic and social benefits for KenGen, private sector and the community. These geothermal resources include cheap electricity generated from the geothermal power plants, more than 2000t/h of brine from several separator stations at 130°C, steam from low to medium enthalpy wells, wells with unique characteristics e.g. cyclic wells, CO2 or SiO2 rich wells and also drilled wells that are located far from the existing power plants. The identified industrial applications within the park include textile, steel and glass manufacturers, eco-friendly fertilizer production, milk processing plants and crop drying facilities. These industries have different energy needs hence a design to promote an exchange of resources among these processes in a cascade approach will result in better resource utilization and enhance sustainability. The use of Combined Heat and Power (CHP) technologies make more efficient use of the geothermal resources by cascading the geothermal fluid to successively lower temperature applications, thereby improving the economics of the entire system dramatically. The main aim is to assess the possibility of circular economy by optimizing the use of materials, energy and wastes in sustainable circular approach. By promoting the industrial symbiosis concept between firms ensures the wastes of one industry becomes the raw materials for another industry hence minimizing waste and enhancing resource use efficiency. These innovative technologies will upscale the KenGen Green Energy Park into an Eco-Industrial Park. The Green Energy Park aims to increase sustainability in utilization of geothermal resources and operate under the following principles: integrated utilization of the steam, brine and electricity from geothermal energy; by-product sharing hence minimizing of waste; job creation resulting from an improved economy and social progress due to development of innovation. |