Kenya’s Geothermal Development Company (GDC) has signed a 20-year deal to supply a cement manufacturing company with steam for use in running its operations.
GDC and Karsan Ramji & Sons Limited, manufacturers of Ndovu Cement, inked the deal on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.
GDC will provide Karsan Ramji with 40 tons per hour of geothermal steam to be used for power generation and the heat to dry during cement production.
This is the first of its kind agreement in Kenya where an industrialist is seeking to generate own geothermal power for the manufacturing process.
It is estimated that in such an arrangement between corporates can dramatically cut the cost of production.
According to GDC Chief Executive Officer Paul Ngugi, the deal marks a significant milestone in the history of energy, especially geothermal.
Ngugi noted that the direct use of geothermal energy is a versatile area that has well been demonstrated in the Menengai steam wells.
At Menengai, Ngugi said there is direct-use projects in heating greenhouses and aqua ponds, milk pasteurisation, and even in drying of cereals.
Speaking during the signing ceremony, GDC Managing Director and CEO Paul Ngugi said this marks a departure from the conventional power generation into a promising realm of captive power and thermal heat.
“Indeed, it is refreshing to see new investments made with energy as a key plank. Such investments will not only, in the long run, help to cut the cost of energy, they will make our products and services competitive and attractive. Investment of this nature will create direct and indirect job opportunities that our country so desperately yearns,” said Mr. Ngugi.
“We are happy that Karsan Ramji found it fit to become part of the geothermal community. The investment they are going to make in this project is a vote of confidence on geothermal energy as a baseload, its affordability, and green credentials. This model is the future of geothermal. We are optimistic that more investors will find value by emulating this approach.”
“As part of our market expansion strategy, we plan to construct our second cement grinding plant in Nakuru that will also have a separate raw material drying plant,” said Kishor Varsani, the CEO of Karsan Ramji & Sons Limited.
The factory will have a capacity of producing between 600 and 800 tonnes of cement per day and will directly employ approximately 120 people and over 1,500 indirectly.
Varsani said at Ndovu Cement, they have a strong commitment to the environment, and in 2021 made a strategic decision to gradually wean off fossil fuel and embrace renewable forms of energy in their operations.
“Our target is to have 100 percent of the energy requirements in all of our facilities being met by renewable energy sources by the year 2040. It is in this spirit that we have chosen to partner with GDC for our energy requirements,” he said.
Source:https://energynewsafrica.com
