KenGen Installs IoT technology At Olkaria Station

Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has installed Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies at the Olkaria Geothermal Power Station to enhance operations and maintenance at the facility.

The project was funded by the Kenyan and Japanese governments in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and KenGen.

In a press release, UNIDO said the installation of the IoT technology was successfully concluded and the designated staff at KenGen were able to complete the associated training.

“Overall, the IoT project aims to install and demonstrates the effectiveness of the IoT technology at the Olkaria geothermal power station, in conjunction with the provision of awareness raising and technical training. The project will further centralize, accumulate, and analyze operational data at a data centre equipped with specialized servers as well as collection and transmission systems,” UNIDO added.

“The data collected and stored by the IoT system will help us make informed decisions on the maintenance we need to carry out. It will also help us to project the needs we require in the near future”, said Eng. Harrison Keter, acting Operations Manager at KenGen.

“We are glad that we could help KenGen make significant progress toward sustainability by providing a digital transformation solution for integrated remote performance management”, said Koji Nakaoka, Vice President and Head of the Energy and Sustainability Business, and Global Sales at Yokogawa, the IoT solution provider. “The solution not only optimizes maintenance and maximizes power generation efficiency, but it also ensures a stable supply of power”.

The application of IoT technology is spreading rapidly across industrial sectors. IoT enables the digital connection of devices, the exchange of information, and the control of processes leading to various benefits including increased efficiency and productivity as well as reduced operation and maintenance costs.