Kaishan officially announces commercial operations of Menengai III geothermal power plant, Kenya
The 35-MW Orpower 22 geothermal power plant in Menengai, Kenya (source: Kaishan Group)
Carlo Cariaga
9 Apr 2026
Kaishan, through Orpower22, has announced the start of commercial operations of the 35-MW Menengai III geothermal power plant in Kenya.
Following news of the completion of the 30-day stability operations tests, Kaishan Group has announced that the 35-MW Menengai III geothermal power plant in Kenya has officially commenced commercial operations on 10 March 2026.
The announcement comes after the receipt of the confirmation letter from the Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC). Power generation from the Menengai III geothermal power plant is subject to the Power Purchase Agreement signed between KPLC and OrPower 22, a subsidiary of the Kaishan Group through which the power plant is owned and operated.
The Menengai III geothermal power plant has an operating period of 25 years from the date of commercial operation, guaranteeing an annual power generation of 291,270,000 kWh, and will contribute approximately USD 15 million in revenue to the company annually. Aside from its ownership of OrPower 22, Kaishan had also supplied power plant equipment to the first geothermal power plant in Menengai, owned by Sosian Energy, which started operations in 2023.
Building on the successful experience gained from the two projects in Menengai, Kaishan aims to continue to grow its presence in the geothermal sector of Kenya. Before the end of 2025, the company broke ground on a geothermal-powered green fertilizer production facility to be built at the Olkaria geothermal industrial park. Kaishan has signed an agreement for KenGen to supply 165 MW of geothermal power from the Olkaria field to the facility for a 30-year term.
The start of commercial operations of Menengai-III is also a notable milestone for Kenya, as it marks the country’s entry into the 1-GW club of countries based on installed geothermal power generation capacity. More capacity is expected to be added later this year from the Menengai II geothermal power plant and the updating of Olkaria Unit 1.
Source: TradingView and Sohu.com
