Kaishan Group: geothermal powered renewable ammonia and fertiliser production in Kenya

Click to learn more. Having already constructed geothermal power in Kenya, China-based Kaishan has signed an agreement to develop a 165.4 MW plant to power renewable ammonia and fertiliser production. Source: Kaishan Group.

Kenya’s national utility KenGen and China-based Kaishan Group have signed a steam supply agreement which will see construction of a 165 MW geothermal power plant. The agreement is that from its existing geothermal wells, KenGen will supply steam worth 165.4 MW of geothermal energy to Kaishan Terra Green Ammonia Limited (Kaishan’s Kenya-based subsidiary). The steam will feed into a new geothermal power plant, the Kaishan Olkaria Geothermal Power Plant, to be constructed by Kaishan. The geothermal power will then be used for renewable ammonia and fertiliser production.

At full scale, with a total investment value of$800 million, the project will feature 200,000 tons per year of renewable ammonia, and subsequently about 480,000 tons of nitrogenous fertiliser (180,000 tons urea and 300,000 tons of calcium ammonium nitrate). The project will yield an estimated$220-250 million in yearly revenue once operational. The partners note that geothermal energy is a round-the-clock energy source that can output stable power suitable for chemical production without the need for expensive energy storage facilities which affects project economics.

For renewable ammonia production, the Kaishan project intends to use a combination of wind, solar and geothermal energy, with the latter acting as “baseload”. Kaishan has already constructed a now operational 37 MW geothermal power plant in Kenya, the Sosian Menegai geothermal power plant, and has extensive experience in geothermal power generation in other regions. By recycling the CO2 emissions from the “non-condensable gases in the geothermal steam” for use as a feedstock in urea production, the new geothermal power plant will have net-zero emissions. Graced by Kenyan President Dr William Ruto, a groundbreaking ceremony for the renewable ammonia project was held earlier this month.