Munich Re insures 140 MW geothermal power project in Kenya

German insurer Munich Re (ETR:MUV2) will provide risk insurance for the geothermal exploration works at the 140 MW Akiira geothermal power project in the Kenyan Rift Valley.

The project is located south west of Naivasha, Kenya and is currently being developed in two 70 MW phases by Akiira Geothermal Limited (AGL).

Munich Re is covering exploration risk on a series of eight wells, the company said in a press release, noting that the insurance covers the risk of insufficient output due to lack of geothermal resources, thus making the project’s financing more dependable and easier to schedule.

The Akiira project will be Munich Re’s first geothermal insurance project in Africa. It is also the first privately owned geothermal project in Kenya to be developed in many years. The drillings are located in the East African Rift System, around 100 kilometres from the capital Nairobi and near the Olkaria field, where about 500 MW in geothermal facilities are already in operation.

AGL is jointly owned by Centum Investments Company Limited, Frontier Investments Management and development partners Marine Power Generation Limited (MPG) and Ram Energy Inc. (REI). While MPG is holding the geothermal license, US-based REI has employees with significant geothermal and power plant development and project financing experience.

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