Geothermal energy, harnessed from the immense heat of the Earth’s core, has helped Kenya to make dramatic progress in extending access to electricity in recent years. Geothermal power plants now produce around half of the country’s electricity. And, with much greater potential still to be developed, a host of industries are looking to set up shop in Kenya to make use of these abundant and renewable energy resources in their facilities.
But geothermal energy can be used for more than generating electricity. Rather than using steam produced from the superheated water deep beneath the Earth’s surface to drive turbines that produce electricity, it is equally possible to make use of the heat directly. Many countries have already learned to harness geothermal heat in their agribusiness sectors.
Geothermal energy can be used, for example, to heat and cool greenhouses. Iceland, on the edge of the Arctic Circle, is able to grow many types of fruits and vegetables locally because of its geothermally-heated greenhouses. Geothermal heat can also be used for sterilising soils, drying crops and pasteurising milk. And it is widely used in aquaculture, to heat pools to the optimum temperatures for different types of fish.
*The views of the above article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Africa Speaks 4 Africa or its editorial team.