Kenya is endowed with vast high-temperature geothermal resources estimated to be more than 10 GW with all the high potential sites being located within the Kenya rift. In addition, low and medium temperature geothermal resources are also abundant within and outside of the Kenya rift. The prospective geothermal sites, are located in association with Quaternary volcanic centres which from from north to south include: Barrier, Namarunu, Emuruangogolak, Silali, Paka, Korosi, Lake Baringo, Lake Bogoria-Arus, Menengai, Elementeita-Badlands, Eburru, Olkaria, Longonot, Suswa, and Lake Magadi. The high prospect for geothermal resources within the rift is due to young volcanism which caused high heat flow and the elevated crustal heat flow associated with formation of the Kenya rift.

Kenya currently has an interconnected installed generation capacity of 3,099.2 MW out of which 972.2 MW

(gross) are from geothermal sources from power plants at Olkaria, Eburru and Menengai which places Kenya at number seven (7) among the countries with highest installed capacities in 2024 and the leading country in Africa. Currently, 40-45% of electricity consumed in Kenya comes from geothermal sources.

The earliest recorded utilization of geothermal resources was in 1939 in Eburru when a farmer used geothermal steam from a shallow well to dry pyrethrum flowers and obtain the natural insecticide pyrethrin. The system is currently being used to dry grains and also for water recovery by the local community. The well was drilled to about 200m and tapped a steam zone which was then piped into a drier built with racks for drying flowers and grains. The geothermal drier is still operational to date. In the neighbourhood, were developed rudimentary condensate recovery systems, which for many years were the only sources of water for the community living in the Eburru area and are still the current main source of potable water in Eburru.

Exploration of geothermal resources for large scale power production started in 1952 with mainly geological investigations in the region between Olkaria and Lake Bogoria in the north rift that had been identified as the most promising sites for geothermal development. The studies were championed by the then East African Power & Lighting Company Ltd (EAPL) supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other international agencies. The first two exploration wells were drilled in 1956 to depths of 950 m and 1200 m, respectively, recording a measured downhole temperature of about 235°C. Unfortunately, the wells were not able to immediately discharge, and consequently slowed down research on geothermal activities until 1970s. After the 1970s oil crisis, focus shifted back to development of renewable energy sources for world energy security. From 1971 to 1972, a joint geothermal exploration work between the Government of Kenya and the UNDP was further carried out in Olkaria, Lake Bogoria and Eburru geothermal prospects. The studies included geological mapping, hydrogeological surveys, geophysical studies and remote sensing surveys. Olkaria area was found to be the most prospective and the research then narrowed down to an area of about 80 km², comprising the current Olkaria geothermal field where the first large scale geothermal power plant in Africa was installed in 1981.