| Olkaria III Geothermal Power Station | |
| Location Map Caption: | Map of Kenya showing the location of Olkaria III Geothermal Power Station |
| Coordinates: | -0.8889°N 36.2553°W |
| Country: | Kenya |
| Location: | Olkaria, Nakuru County, Kenya |
| Status: | O |
| Commissioned: | 2000, 2009, 2014, 2016 & 2018 |
| Owner: | Ormat Technologies Inc. |
| Ps Units Operational: | 1 x 48 MW 1 x 36 MW 1 x 26 MW 1 x 29 MW 1 x 11 MW |
The Olkaria III Geothermal Power Station, is a large geothermal power plant in Kenya, having an installed electricity generating capacity of .[1] [2]
The facility is located adjacent to Hell's Gate National Park, along with its sister stations, Olkaria I, Olkaria II, and Olkaria IV. This location lies in the Olkaria area, in Nakuru County, on the eastern edge of the Eastern Rift Valley, approximately 38.2km (23.7miles), by road, southwest of Naivasha, the nearest large town. Olkaria lies approximately 126km (78miles), by road, northwest of Nairobi. The geographical coordinates of Olkaria III Geothermal Power Station are 0°53'27.0"S, 36°17'21.0"E (Latitude:-0.890833; Longitude:36.289167).
The Olkaria III Power Station first started operation in 2000, running one Ormat power plant with a generation capacity of . In January 2009 new infrastructure was installed, adding another to the plant's capacity. Later, production capacity was installed. The third generation unit at Olkaria III, with capacity of was commissioned in 2014, bringing total capacity at the plant to .[3] The fourth generation unit, with capacity of was commissioned in 2016, bringing total capacity at the plant to .[4] In 2018 another 11 megawatts of capacity was added increasing generation capacity to 150 MW.[5]
Olkaria III Power Station is owned and operated by Ormat Technologies Inc., a Reno, Nevada registered company, with production facilities in Yavne, Israel. Oromat Technologies owns the power station through its 100 percent subsidiary "OrPower 4 Inc". According to Kenyan print media, Ormat Technologies Inc. sold 503 gigawatt hours (GWh) to Kenya Power and Lighting Company, earning KES:3.89 billion (US$45 million), in the 12 months ending 30 June 2013.[6]