kenyatta university | Field trip report | | J75/2359/2009 | Dennis Muthomi Kirauni | 4/1/2014 |

As part of the fulfillment of the requirements to the degree pursued, in the EMM 516 course (power plant engineering) we under took several field trips to relate what has been taught in class and how the power generation objective is achieved out there. This report is to be submitted in partial fulfillment of the mentioned course. |

Introduction
Kenya’s energy sector faces daunting challenges, characterized by high cost and insufficient supply. Nearly 80% of Kenyans are living without access to basic Energy services; a top priority for the government is to improve access to adequate and affordable energy supply. The existing energy supply is heavily dependent upon hydroelectric power thus due to the rapid growth in demand for energy means that Kenya must find new ways to provide crucial energy services to its people. The available options include Renewable energy resources like geothermal. Kenya has nearly 7,000 MW geothermal potential, yet it remains largely undeveloped due to economic and financial limitations, insufficient technical and human capacity, and various social constraints.
However the government has now turned around and is aiming at producing about 16000MW of power by 2030. The country currently produces about 1500 MWs primarily from hydro stations (57%-hydro power, about 32%-thermal and the rest comprises geothermal and emergency thermal power). To bridge this huge deficit in the short time, courses as EMM 516 were developed to provide man-power needed to sustain the projected growth.
First we visited the Kiambere power station the Tana station and Kangaita tea factory for a boiler’s experience. We later visited the Embakasi gas turbine then to Olkaria II geothermal power generation plant. In this report I will basically describe the outlay and functions of the components of the plant visited though in some instances I will include relevant literature to relate class work to the plant under discussion.
N/B: The sites were not visited in order followed in this report (geothermal power plant). I opted to write in order from drilling then to generation.

KIAMBERE POWER PLANT
Introduction
On Thursday the 27th march 2014 we visited the Kiambere dam. After the necessary security and procedural checks we were introduced to Mr., Namu (a mechanical engineering technician at the plant). He started by giving us the history and an overview introduction of the seven folks dams. The dams in order of age are: Kindaruma (commissioned in 1968 & has current power output of 44 MW), Kamburu (commissioned in 1974 & has current power output of 94.2 MW), Masinga (commissioned in 1981 & has current power output of 40 MW), Kiambere (commissioned in 1987& has current power output of 168MW) and Gitaru (commissioned in 1999 &has current power output of 225MW) for a combined output of 571.2MW.
Mutonga and Grand falls hydro electric power projects are yet to be commissioned. Also there is a Karura dam that is being constructed between Kindaruma and Kamburu dams.
Masinga dam is the largest man-made lake in the seven folks. Due to low head, it’s mainly used to supply the other dams i.e. it is a reservoir. With a capacity of 1.56 billion cubic meters of water this reservoir is used for water regulation throughout the year. The dam occupies a surface area of 120 km². However it manages to generate 40MW thanks to two Kaplan turbines. It is managed by the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority. The valley that it drowned has a convoluted shoreline and a number of islands. Its maximum depth is 50m. It borders Yatta and Mbeere and stretches to Thika in the west and supports marine life in fish, hippopotamus and crocodiles. Fishing is also carried out to supply neighboring Thika, Embu, Nairobi, Matuu and Masinga towns.
About Kiambere dam
The dam is an earth fill dam (embankment of compacted free-draining granular earth with an impervious zone).it’s located 100km from Embu town at 700m above sea level was funded by the Saudi government to the tune of about 40 million Saudi riyals. It is operated by Tana River Development Authority (TARDA) .The reservoir has a capacity of 580 million m³ and covers a surface area of 25KM2. Since it is currently the last dam on the Tana, its machines are mostly ran on base load hence the large power output. The powerhouse is situated 4 km away from the saddle dam (where the intake structure is located) about 150M underground. The powerhouse pedestals and the headrace have been curved out of granite rock. This rock is a good shock absorber and has high strength making it ideal for the construction of this high vibration system. Where the rock had fault lines or mass weaknesses it was excavated and then filled with a concrete of a special cement held into place by steel bars drilled into the rock face. Seepage of water from the overlying rocks in some areas and presence of stagnant water increases the content of carbon (IV) oxide in the air in the power house thus necessitating air conditioners to avoid stale air conditions.

The water head is conveyed to the surge chamber in a 6.1m-diameter headrace tunnel. This tunnel is lined with concrete and is inspected for signs of deterioration and eventual maintainace every 10 years. The surge chamber is 3.5 meters in diameter and arises 20 meters above ground level. Its function is to * Relieve hydrostatic pressures arising from the water hammer effect produced when main inlet valves are closed to regulate flow or for maintenance purposes’. * Absorb excess kinetic energy * Balances reservoirs supply

From here the water is divided between two pen stalks, each of which has a vertical and a horizontal component. In the vertical section the diameter is 4 meters and height drop is 56 meters. The horizontal section has diameter 3.4 meters and length is 15.5 meters. The pen stalk functions to: * Ensures a standard discharge for maintaining constant turbine speed. * gradual decreases in its diameter during the descent leads to gain in kinetic energy delivered to the turbine blades

The water head from the pen stalks is let into the turbines’ clockwise spiral casing by the MIVs. MIVs are pneumatically operated and they control the volumetric flow rate and hence provide a means for adjusting the turbine speed. Some water is bled at the MIV for other purposes’ like: * Cooling of shaft bearings. * Pushing the water that seeps to the upper side of the runner. * Pressure equalization purposes’ –to avoid cavitation of the runner. Water for cooling the bearings is de-mudded in the hydro cycloid and pumped into the bearings. We noticed that there are local oil pressure pumps which are to pressurize the journal shaft bearings when the runner is stopped- this improve on bearing life and saves on importation costs for the same. Other accessory equipments are: * Centrifugal dewatering pumps-for de-flooding the turbine floor of leaked water. * Compressor pump- for running the various pneumatic systems e.g. brakes * A fire fighting system – consist of set of carbon (IV) oxide tanks a smoke detection system etc.
The water is allowed to flow into the Francis turbine by wicket gates at a discharge rate of 64.6 m3/s. the gates aid in control of the inlet angle of water as it enters the turbine; in turn this determines how much power can be generated hence these gates are very important to the dam's performance and operation. The wicket gates consist of two levels of guide vanes, outer set is stationary while the inner one can be adjusted to change the inlet angle of water flow. The movable vanes are controlled by governors, each at a turbine. When the water impinges on the turbines vanes it induces a rotary motion which is transmitted via the shaft to rotate the generator. The generator consists of wounding in which e.g. is induced by work done when a charge in a wire (rotor) cuts through a magnetic flux (in stator). The clearance between the rotor and the stator is about 8mm, which is large compared to the shaft clearance in its bearings (0.01mm). The runners speed is 300 r.p.m. and this is also the generating speed to yield an output of 84.5MW per machine.

TANA HYDRO POWER PLANT On Friday the 28th march 2014 our day started by visiting the Tana hydro power plant. We were welcome by Eng. Mureithi (engineer in charge) who took us around the plant. The plant is located on the river Tana just off the Nyeri-Nairobi highway bridge.
The Tana Power Station was constructed back in 1932. It has since undergone several extensions. It currently consists of four units producing 22.5MW (2 units @ 7MWs each and 2 units @ 5MW each) of electricity at full capacity. It uses Francis turbines which have an exposed spiral casing owing to the low water head of 22Metres. The water is drawn from Merira reservoir and Wanji reservoir up Maragua River. It’s delivered from the surge tank by two pen stalks (from Wanji) and one for the Merira unit. The Wanji units power the 5MW runners while the Merira pen stalk is divided into two units to power the 7MW units. As before (in Kiambere) water is bled for: * Cooling of shaft bearings. * Pushing the water that seeps to the upper side of the runner. * Pressure equalization purposes’ –to avoid cavitation of the runner. The generator-turbine assembly is held in thrust bearings (use pressurized oil to minimize damage to the white metal rolling elements) and the shaft and turbine are held in place by their bearings respectively. Turbine parameters like shaft tolerances and rotor clearance are 0.01mm and 8 mm respectively.
The colour code at the plant is: * Sky blue for warm water pipes. * Dark blue for cold water pipes. * Yellow for high pressure oil. * Red is for the firefighting accessories.
Power generated is regulated to within certain ranges by adjusting runner input parameters via a S.C.A.D.A. system. Power is then transmitted in 11kW lines for delivery to K.P.L.C.

KANGAITA TEA FACTORY (boiler)
The next stop on 28th march 2014 was at Kangaita tea factory. We were received by the plant manager who, informed us that due to time constraints we would only visit the boiler room (factory operations for the day were almost closing).He the handed us over to the mechanical technicians.
About the factory
It is located on the southern slopes of Mount Kenya. It is just 700 meters from the start of the extensive Mount Kenya forest in the Central division of Kirinyaga district; Central Province. Built in 1965, it serves about 6000 small scale tea farmers with a combined acreage of almost 1000ha.
It has an installed capacity to process 15 million kgs of Greenleaf per year. The average annual production in the last 5 years is about 13.5 M-kgs of green tea leaves translating to 3.4million kilos of tea. The factory produces high quality black teas (CTC and orthodox), special KTDA type green teas (both green CTC and orthodox) and intermediate taste, oolong teas (CTC/orthodox). Other specialty teas on production-limited orders are; Kangaita white teas/silvery needles and Kangaita rare purple teas. These are high value rare teas that are currently under expansion programme. The factory enjoys niche quality status and has loyal bulk buyers all across the world. It has some of the best teas based on cup and leaf profiles.
The wood-fired boiler
The wood-fired boilers used in the factory are located in a boiler room section within the factory. They work with any existing heating system. A water jacket surrounds the furnace firebox and hot flue gasses are passed through the water in the shell cavity by pipes (fire tubes). Steam is circulated around the factory in insulated (lagged) pipes. This is an efficient way to move heat over distances.
There were several types of boilers in the room, though the organic fuel ones were not in operation at the time. Primarily the boilers, by design, were fire tubes owing to the large amount of steam demanded. The furnaces are wood powered. Wood is cut into segments about 1-2 feet and thicker segments are split along their grains. These pieces are stacked and do not necessarily have to be dry (partially wet ones last longer in the furnace). The wood to be fired is weighed prior to being fed to the furnace. Blocks of wood are thrown into the fire chamber where the burn heating the water in the shell. The ash is removed regulary, weekly at times to facilitate efficient combustion. Air is induced by a rotary compressor into the furnace and blown in a direction facing away from the door (safety design). Another safety feature is the safety valve which releases excess steam pressure to ensure that the designed pressure is not attained (eliminate risk of the boiler exploding). Super heated steam is tapped off at the top of the boiler and channeled to areas of use. Exhausted steam is condensed and mixed with treated water-for replacing steam lost along the cycle and re-fed into the boiler shell. Any moisture in the steam formed is bled and channeled back to the input water feed. The flue gases are channeled to the economizer and the air pre-heaters before being released to the atmosphere as drought. Fig: fire tube boiler

EMBAKASI GAS TURBINE PLANT

On Tuesday the 1st of April 2014 we visited the Embakasi gas turbine that is run by Kengen. We were received by Eng. Omollo (mech. eng) the site engineer who also took us through the process they use to generate.
The plant consists of two units that run on light kerosene (aviation fuel) using an average of 5000 liters’ per running hour each. Therefore the plant had to be located near the airport to ensure close proximity to its main raw material supplier- Kenya Airports Authority. The fuel is burned to give gaseous products whose kinetic energy is used to run the turbines. The exhaust, which is clear-fully burnt, is the released to the air at a high temperature (7000C). While this heat could be used in generating steam or running a low pressure turbine it would be uneconomical to add such a system to the plant since it runs only in peak hours-to produce reactive power for stabilizing voltages in the national grid around Nairobi.
The plant layout
There are two storage tanks in the yard with a combined capacity of 240000 liters’, enough to run both machines for 24 hrs. From the tanks fuel goes into the fuel forwarding skid, which consist of a centrifugal pump, a bulk meter and fuel filters. The meter records the flow rates to the combustion chamber, the filters remove solid impurities and the pump delivers the fuel to the combustion chamber at a certain pressure. Fuel is atomized as it enters the boilers where it combines with compressed air from the air intake system. The air intake consists of an intake, filter house and a 17 stage compressor. Compressed Air is supplied to the boiler/combustion chamber at 32-85 0C while some is bled for: * Cooling turbine casing. * Atomizing kerosene for larger surface area for combustion. * Filling pressure deficits caused by lubricant leakages in journal bearings
N/B: Air to fuel flow into the boiler is controlled by use of guide valves.
The main generation unit is portioned into 4 compartments: 1. Accessories compartment- consists of equipment that supports the running of the plant. Equipment includes: i. Diesel engine –used for starting up the generation unit, primary function being to overcome inertial forces associated with the heavy rotor and turbine units. It runs up to a speed of 3000r.p.m at which firing of the fuel is sufficient to run the system. At this speed a PLC (programmable logic controller) cuts fuel to the engine disconnects its clutch slowing engines speed to zero in about 70 minutes. Firing (combustion of the fuel) takes place from 1000rpm. ii. Water pump- facilitates flow of water into the heat exchangers that are used to cool the oil for lubricating the bearings. iii. Accessory gearbox-adjusts the torque requirement to that needed to accelerate the turbine & rotor to generating speed. iv. Lubrication oil tank which Holds oil that is: * Pumped into the journal bearings for lubrication purposes. * Used to power hydraulic systems for control 2. Compressor, boiler & Turbine unit- they are run on the same shaft. Compressor delivers air at high pressure to the boiler where atomized fuel is combusted. This converts the fuels chemical energy into kinetic energy owing to the high pressures, this mix is the expanded in the 3 stage turbine. The running speed of the turbine is 5100 rpm and it is constantly monitored &controlled by a series of interconnected PLCs. The first stage consists of short rigid vanes to resist breaking due to the high bending moments. As the gases energy reduces the vanes widen to provide for larger surface area for energy transfer. The exhausted gases at high temperature and low pressure are then released to the atmosphere. 3. generating system-this consists of a : * Speed reduction gearbox-reduces speed from turbine shaft to the 3000rpm required for the generator to generate. * Generator unit- consists of the stator and the rotor. The rotor coils cut the field induced in the excited stator thus producing electricity at 11kVA which is then stepped up to 33kVA. * Transmission unit- connects generator and enables transmission of power to and from the national grid. Drawing power from the national grid facilitates part of the plants function (stabilizing voltage in peak usage hours). 4. Control room-most of the plants facilities are operated remotely through a SCADA system. PLCs are controlled from this location, control parameters can also be set from here e.g. to control turbine speed operator can adjust; fuel feed, air going into the boiler use of clutches in the early firing stages.
N/B: control are operated using D.C. power from battery banks.

GEOTHERMAL POWER
What it is
Geothermal electricity is electricity generated from geothermal energy. Hailing from the Greek words "geo," meaning earth and "thermo," meaning heat, it follows that it draws hot superheated steam from underground reservoirs and uses it to do work on the turbine. To get this steam wells have to be sunk into the ground to a depth of between 2000 meters and 6000 meters ,however drilling action can cause earthquake s by releasing pent up stresses in the rocks thus wells are 2000-3000 meters deep
Its impact on the environment 1. Emissions- In geothermal power generating we inevitably draw a mixture of gases from the earth’s crust i.e. hydrogen sulphide (H2S), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3).with an estimated emission of average of 400 kg of CO2 per megawatt-hour (MW·h) of electricity geothermal power is relatively cleaner than all fossil fuels. 2. Natural hydrological equilibrium-the drawn steam/ water is cooled and pumped back into the underground reservoirs also Exhausted Steam is released into the hydrological cycle thus maintaining the balance. Hot water from geothermal sources may hold in solution trace amounts of toxic chemicals, such as mercury, arsenic, boron and antimony. These chemicals come out of solution as the water cools, and can cause environmental damage if released. The practice of injecting geothermal fluids back into the Earth therefore reduces the risk of these substances finding their way into the food chains. 3. Thermal balance-while the immediate area may experience slight warming the volume of heat removed from the earth is small enough to avoid causing instability.
Its economic benefit 1. Cheap power 2. Increased local economic activity
In the course of our academic trip to the Olkaria complex and the Geothermal Development Company we experienced the following elements of geothermal power generation;
(a)WELL EXPLORATION AND DRILLING. (G.D.C. -Geothermal Development Company)
Introduction
On Friday the 4th of April 2014 we visited GDC in Menengai to learn the process of exploration and eventual utilization of geothermal resources. This is in line with the coursework for the thermal power plant unit we are taking. Mr. Yusuf, the company’s community development officer received us at geothermal house, in Nakuru town. He guided us to the wells being drilled within the Menengai crater.
Once there he introduced us to the field engineer, Mr. Wekesa, who explained to us the basics of the exploration & drilling process’ and handled our queries. We however could not be taken around the rig system since we had not carried our PEPs.
About prospective exploration
The exploration project at Menengai is aiming at justifying the predicted potential estimated to be about 5000 MW. The project is carried out in the following stages: 1. Confirmation that a useful geothermal production field exists-there is a shallow (near the surface, 2-6 km deep) high heat rock mass. This is a key limiting factor in geothermal well drilling. 2. Locate productive zones- analysis to determine the heat content of the fluids that will be discharged by the wells in the geothermal field is carried out. 3. Studies to determine the pre-exploitation values of environmentally sensitive parameters are carried out. Studies to acquire knowledge of characteristics that might cause problems during field problems are done. 4. Well drilling- mechanical engineers set up a rig to drill the well in the specified location. The well depth is planned such that it traverses as many fault line s as possible, for optimal recourse utilization. Wells at Menengai are slim hole-type.
The geosciences survey {Prospective stage} - (1-3) It is carried out by three sets of professionals who pinpoint the high potential reservoirs i.e. * Geologists-they carries out Geological and hydrological studies which are generally the beginning point of an exploration program. The basic function of these studies is to identify the location and extent of areas worth investigating in more detail, and to help recommend the best exploration methods for these areas. Information obtained during the geological and hydrological studies is used throughout the production phase. * Geophysicist –conducts Geophysical surveys which are directed towards obtaining the physical parameters of deep geological formations. This is achieved by different techniques such as seismic, gravity, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic prospecting to aid in evaluating the temperature and conductivity of the reservoir’ parameters. The studies can also help to confirm the presence of geothermal fluids in the structures. The majority of these geophysical surveys are best suited to the final stages of exploration to help determine the sites for exploratory wells.
Geo chemist-conduct geochemical surveys which consist of sampling and chemical analyses of the water and gas from geothermal wells in the study area. They help to determine possible problems that may occur during the injection phase and plant utilization and how to avoid or combat them.

Fig; geothermal resources
Drilling process
This is a process of utilizing drilling rigs to remove rock cuttings from the ground. Since a lot of heat is generated a drilling fluid (water or mud) will usually be circulated through the system for flushing and cooling purposes. The mud pumps facilitate this flow. Cuttings are separated from the fluid by filtration or forward osmosis. The fluid is re-circulated while the cuttings are dumped aside.
The Kifaru-2 rig, visited, at Menengai is a 2000 H.P. electric type rig which has a depth capability of 7000m. Since the rig has been sourced from the People’s Republic of China, the G.D.C. Company has had to import support technical staff to assist in its utilization. In terms of capacity development the company has sourced for geothermal experts from Philippines’.
An exploratory well is usually sunk with a coring rig at the prospective point. It aids in retrieval of samples to determine the subsurface geologic conditions. If successful, results of analysis are satisfactory, a rig is set up at the location and the main well is drilled.
It

This is done in the following stages: * Subsurface drilling – from 0m to 60 up to 80m deep. Well is 20 inches in diameter and has a mild steel casing to prevent the well from collapsing. In this section mud drilling is done where bentonite (clayey laden) water is used to carry off the cuttings (rock particles chipped by the drill bit). * Anchor section –from 60 to 80m-750m deep. In this section dangerous gases, especially. Hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S), are produced therefore a blow-out preventer is used to harness and direct the gases to a disposal point in the atmosphere. A casing of steel reinforced concrete is made to protect the well wall * Stage 3-750m to 1400m-this forms the last level of cemented casing. * Production stage- 1400m to 2500m. Slotted pipes are inserted in this level and water allowed/ pumped down the slots to yield steam which flows at a high pressure to the surface.
Note:
i. The drilling fluid+ drilling detergent is forced down the wash pipes by pumps& out at the bit via small jets, then the suspension is forced up the sides of the wash pipe onto the surface separator which sorts the rocks from the fluid which is then treated and re-used. Detergent froths thus facilitating carrying of cuttings. The cuttings are then dumped at certain places. ii. Mud drilling is used for the 1st stage only. Water is used for the others but for the deep drilling stages it has to be compressed(under very high pressure) A steam producing well is subjected to about 2-4wks to analyze the stability of its output before utilization of the steam for power generation can begin.

(b) GENERATION (OLKARIA 2 POWER PLANT)
About geothermal power generation
Once a well viability has been established then independent generating entities are invited to invest in a power plant. In generation of power the following technologies are used i.e.: * Dry steam power plants-oldest geothermal technology developed in 1904 by Prince Piero Ginori in Lardarello, Italy. These plants directly draw and use geothermal steam of 150°C or greater to turn turbines. * Binary cycle power plants. - was first demonstrated in 1967 in Russia and later introduced to the USA in 1981 following the crisis. It allows for the use of much lower temperature resources than were previously be utilized e.g. Chena hot springs (USA) and Olkaria 3. At Olkaria 3(or power- an Israeli owned independent producer) the working fluid used is a hydrocarbon substance that is synthesized in Israel. It’s expensive hence reluctance of our national power generator to use it in their plants. * Flash steam power plants – was first used at Wairakei station in New Zealand in 1958. They pull deep, high-pressure hot wet steam into lower-pressure tanks and use the resulting flashed steam to drive turbines. They require fluid temperatures of at least 180°C, or more for operating. They are the commonly used type at the Olkaria geothermal complex.
Generation process
On Thursday 3rd April 2014 the 5th years Mechanical Engineering students, visited Olkaria II power. It generates about 105MW with 3 turbines of 35MW each. The visit was organized under the power plant engineering which is a course students undertake to understand the geothermal resource utilization and relate the theory to practice.
We were cordially welcomed and had a brief introduction involving processes steam undergo upon tapping from the wells to the re-injection of condensed water back into the wells. The latter is a regeneration process that not only completes the water cycle but makes geothermal resource renewable Our first stop was an old well which is no longer producing steam but has all the pipe work and equipment still intact, making it ideal for demonstration. We then went to a production well no.715, which is 2003 meters deep and can generate 97 tonnes of steam/hr.this steam can generate 4.6MWe(megawatts electrical) but since the cycle is a open loop(excess steam is released into the atmosphere ) only 35tonnes /hr is effectively used for generation. Steam from the well is at about 150οC, 4.8bar and it is passed through a separator to ensure that only the dry steam is delivered to the turbine. Absence of liquid droplets in the steam prevents cavitation which would hasten the deterioration of the turbine. The separator pressure is sufficiently low to ensure that the liquid boils producing dry steam. (Boosts the efficiency-energy utilization- of the system). The excess water is combined with water from the condenser to cool it before re-injection.
Steam from the separator the steam is directed to three different reservoirs each that services one of the three single stage turbines. Appropriate pressure of steam is regulated in the reservoirs by use of valves so as to enable them drive the turbines optimally. Steam pressure is regulated to (4.8 bars and 1500C). This ensures the right mass flow of steam to be supplied into the 6 stage reaction turbines which generate at a speed of about 3000rpm.a steam mass flow governor enables control of the turbine speed. The turbine is coupled to the horizontal air cooled generator directly. There’s a control room that monitors most of the parameter of operation using the SCADA system. The control room staff is in constant communication with the national grid to meet the load/power requirements and hence they are able to regulate the power generated and feed into the grid through the excitation mechanism of the generator. The power generated is 11kV but is stepped up to 220kV for onward transmission from the plant. The exhaust steam from the turbine at 0.075 bars is suction-delivered to the condensers where it’s cooled by water from the condenser tower. The cooler steam is then made to flow through darkened fins (from below) on which cold liquid water is flowing on the outer side. Cold water is actually sprayed on the fins from top. This causes heat exchange and most of the steam to condense into water. Some percentage is tapped to be used for cooling the equipment while the rest is re-injected into the reservoirs via re-injection wells at about 44οC.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS While the country is making good strides in the power supply direction, geothermal power is not the only exploitable power source. Also it’s not the most environmentally clean since it brings substances like mercury, arsenic, boron and antimony into contact with the hydrological cycle. Besides it releases gaseous by products like ammonia and hydrogen sulphide into the air leading to change in air ph and issues like acidic rain. Also geothermal drilling may release pent up stresses in the rocks leading to seismic action. The immediate area may also experience slight warming owing to the heat released into the sink (surrounding). As for hydro power the country simply doesn’t have enough resource to meet its projected supply demands. However we have sources like wind and solar which are yet to be meaningfully developed. The major impediment here is the capital requirement. As far as gas turbines go it was noted that the fuel consumption is just too high for us to make it a reliable power source. As such our gas turbine plants will continue to run at peak times to stabilize voltage as long as we can’t produce our own gas, but even then gas is a rare commodity that will require to be conserved. For organic boilers the attention being paid to the green energy revolution is leading us to reconsider using them for power production in order to conserve trees. However if we could manage to convert enough of our organic waste into briquettes, then y not use boilers to produce power?
I would recommend that we shift our focus not so much to the renewable due to the expenses to be incurred but rather to the energy from wastes. If the government can fund researches into these fields we could come up with ways, though they may be expensive, to handle the waste of our ever increasing populace while serving their demand for energy.