We're in the middle of the Rift Valley, a vast area torn by a tectonic fault that runs through several countries, including Kenya. This is one of the largest geothermal power plants in the world, taking advantage of the renewable energy generated from the heat inside the Earth. The Kenyan Government has made a priority of this energy resource exploration, in a country where only about one-third of the population has electricity. And for this the KenGen, the Kenyan public operator, has the support of Japan. We visited the immense Olkaria geothermal complex."The collaboration with Japan and other international partners has enabled us to reduce the price of electricity. At the same time, protect the environment and help preserve the wildlife in the region of Olkaria. We have just completed the Olkaria central 4, which has a capacity of 280 megawatts. This helps us to replace in part the use of oil. Energy costs fell 30%. For consumers, it's a big difference, "says us Abel Rotich, of KenGen.There are four power stations at Olkaria, right in the heart of Hell's Gate National Park, where several species animals coexist in the geothermal exploration structures. Currently, the total production capacity here exceeds 500 megawatts. Since 1981, the KenGen has already opened more than 280 wells. Kenyan engineers have received training under the agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).#Kenia and #Japón sign agreement for #préstamo of $ 400m for plant #geotermia #Olkaria V https://t.co/cCIx7WNDQp pic.twitter.com/BDKaTIWRfr"Our workers are trained by Japanese experts during the first year of construction. Are prepared to manage all software, all operations. The plants are operated by Kenyan experts ", emphasises Rotich.Japanese cooperation is far from the energy sector down. Mikio Mori, representative of the Embassy of Japan, claims that "a number of areas were identified for further cooperation: education, health, economic growth, the development of infrastructure, peace and security. Therefore, we believe that Kenya is the ideal host for hosting the first TICAD Conference in Africa. "TICAD is the acronym for the Tokyo International Conference for African development. It is a platform to promote investments in that continent, with a particular focus in the areas of education and growth at local level. < string xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/2003/10/Serialization/">The projects like Olkaria include community development plans involving local tribes. Many masai lived in the area where now the Olkaria central 4. The KenGen has built new homes and a school, which hosts more than 200 students, between 3 and 16 years. The elders of the tribe come regularly live here. "We're very happy with the new school. It has nothing to do with the old one. It is much better for the kids, "said us one of them.
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