THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ON THE RURAL POOR IN KENYA The Impact of a Geothermal Power Plant on a Poor Rural Community in Kenya A report of the AFREPREN Theme Group on Special Studies of Strategic Significance Sponsored by Sida/SAREC and AFREPREN/FWD By Mr. Nicholas Mariita Bw’Obuya 2002 AFREPREN in Brief AFREPREN is an African initiative on Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development supported by Sida/SAREC, Government of Sweden. The African Energy Policy Research Network, AFREPREN, brings together 106 African energy researchers and policy makers who have a long-term interest in energy research and the attendant policy-making process. AFREPREN has initiated policy research studies in 19 African countries, namely: Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. AFREPREN also maintains close collaborative links with energy researchers and policy makers from Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Senegal. The key objective of the African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPREN) is to strengthen local research capacity and to harness it in the service of energy policy making and planning. Initiated in 1987, AFREPREN is a collective regional response to the widespread concern over the weak link between energy research and the formulation and implementation of energy policy in Africa. AFREPREN AFREPREN/FWD House Elgeyo Marakwet Close P.O. Box 30979, 00100 Nairobi GPO Nairobi, Kenya. Tel.: +254 2 566032, 571467 Fax: +254 2 561464, 566231, 740524 Contact: Stephen Karekezi, Director E-mail:
[email protected] or
[email protected] Website: www.afrepren.org Acknowledgements AFREPREN/FWD acknowledges the generous support of Sida/SAREC, Sweden, which financed the publication of this report as well as the associated research.