22 October 2010: The World Bank presented an Electricity Expansion Project in Kenya, expected to channel a total investment of US$1,391 million, of which the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), is providing US$330 million, to expand energy access with clean geothermal power and new transmission lines.

The project, launched on 21 October 2010, seeks to bolster the Kenyan Government’s goal of connecting one and a half million people and businesses to the electricity grid by 2015. Low-income households will benefit, as electricity will reach the homes and businesses of some of the country’s largest slums and most remote rural areas. Eddy Njoroge, managing director of Kenya Electricity Generating Company Limited (KenGen), underlined that “the impact of climate change has exposed weaknesses of the weather-dependent power sources, especially hydro, leading to a compelling case for sustainable and renewable energy sources like geothermal.” He described the company’s strategy to increase capacity mainly through “green energy with particular focus on this cost effective energy source, which is environmentally friendly and has no carbon emissions.” [World Bank Press Release]