State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) plans to increase renewable energy deployment by adding 3,000 megawatts (MW) from clean energy sources to the grid, according to a local media report.

The move will come following the deployment of up to 2,000 MW of baseload power drawn from geothermal and hydro sources to stabilise energy sources, The Kenyan Wall Street newspaper reported.

The utility provider has put plans in place to optimise existing hydro sources and new hydropower stations.

KenGen CEO Abraham Serem said the company will strive to reconstruct its existing power plants to make them more efficient for long-term generations.

“So far, we have only exploited about 0.9 gigawatts (GW) of the 10GW geothermal potential and that is why a huge chunk of the additional capacity will be drawn from geothermal,'' he noted.

KenGen seeks to use new technology to reconstruct its oldest geothermal power plant, the 45MW Olkaria I, and raise its power generation to more than 60MW, the newspaper said.

(Editing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com )