KenGen Risks Losing Olkaria Wells Over 18-Year Licence Blunder Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) faces a serious legal and operational risk at Olkaria after an error in the coordinates of its geothermal licence left part of the company’s wells, steam infrastructure and other assets outside its legally recognised area. The licensing mistake, made nearly two decades ago, remains unresolved despite the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum acknowledging the problem in 2017. The dispute has raised questions about the security of KenGen’s investments, the government’s management of geothermal resources and the potential consequences for Kenya’s electricity supply. Olkaria is the country’s most important geothermal centre and accounts for the overwhelming majority of Kenya’s installed geothermal generation capacity. Licence Error Exposes Strategic Assets The problem dates back to September 19, 2008, when the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum issued KenGen a licence covering ...
Września GT-1: Poland Begins a New Geothermal Drilling Project for Local Heat
The project, being carried out in Września, is designed to determine whether underground thermal water can provide a sufficiently reliable resource for the municipality's heating system. The planned well is expected to reach approximately 1,460 metres, with preliminary estimates indicating thermal water temperatures of around 53–54°C and a potential production rate of at least 250 m³/h.
The project is being supported financially by Poland's National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) and forms part of a wider national programme supporting geothermal exploration across Poland.
For Września, however, the drilling campaign is about more than simply finding hot water. The results could determine whether the municipality can develop another locally available source of heat and reduce the role of conventional fuels in its heating system.
Września GT-1 Drilling Officially Begins
The drilling campaign was officially inaugurated on 11 September 2026, when representatives of Poland's Ministry of Climate and Environment, NFOŚiGW and the municipality of Września gathered at the drilling site.
The event included Minister of Climate and Environment Paulina Hennig-Kloska, NFOŚiGW Deputy President Robert Gajda, and Września Mayor Tomasz Kałużny. The ministry described the event as the symbolic launch of the exploratory geothermal drilling programme.
The drilling contractor highlighted the beginning of another geothermal well on the Polish map, with the project entering its execution phase.
The significance of the project is straightforward: the municipality has geological expectations, but only drilling and subsequent testing can establish whether those expectations translate into an economically useful geothermal resource.
That distinction is important.
A geothermal exploration well is not automatically a geothermal power or heating project. The underground formation must deliver the required combination of temperature, flow rate, chemistry and long-term productivity before the resource can be considered suitable for commercial utilisation.
Września GT-1 is therefore fundamentally a resource-confirmation project.
A 1,460-Metre Geothermal Exploration Well
The planned depth of the Września GT-1 well is approximately 1,460 metres, according to NFOŚiGW.
At that depth, the project is targeting a water-bearing geological formation capable of supplying thermal water to the surface.
The expected parameters published for the project include:
- Planned depth: approximately 1,460 metres
- Expected thermal-water temperature: approximately 53–54°C
- Expected production capacity: minimum 250 m³/h
- Expected mineralisation: below 60 g/dm³
- Planned completion: February 2027
NFOŚiGW stresses that these are expected or target parameters rather than confirmed production results. The final assessment will depend on what the drilling programme actually encounters underground and what subsequent testing demonstrates.
This is one of the most important aspects of the Września project.
The numbers currently associated with GT-1 represent a geological hypothesis to be tested, not a proven geothermal reserve.
If drilling confirms the expected water-bearing formation and the well achieves suitable temperature and flow characteristics, the project could move toward the next stage: evaluating how the resource could be integrated into local heat supply.
Why 53–54°C Matters
A geothermal resource does not need to reach temperatures associated with electricity generation to be valuable.
At approximately 53–54°C, the expected Września resource is much more naturally aligned with direct heat applications than conventional geothermal power generation.
The municipality is therefore looking at geothermal energy primarily from the perspective of heat.
This distinction is particularly relevant for Poland, where many geothermal projects are associated with district heating, hot-water applications, recreation, agriculture and other direct-use opportunities.
If the resource is confirmed, geothermal water could potentially contribute heat to a local heating network, subject to the results of detailed technical and economic studies.
The Polish government has specifically identified local heating as one of the potential applications of the Września resource. Other possibilities mentioned by NFOŚiGW include applications in tourism and greenhouse heating.
The key question is therefore not simply:
"Is there hot water underground?"
It is:
"Can the water be produced sustainably at sufficient temperature and flow, with acceptable chemistry and at a cost that supports a viable heating system?"
The GT-1 drilling campaign is intended to help answer that question.
The 250 m³/h Target Could Be Significant
One of the most closely watched parameters will be the expected production rate of at least 250 cubic metres per hour.
At that rate, the resource would provide a substantial volume of thermal water if the target productivity is confirmed during testing.
However, flow rate should never be considered in isolation.
A geothermal well producing a large volume of relatively low-temperature water can have a very different economic value from a well producing a smaller volume at a substantially higher temperature.
For a district heating project, the interaction between flow, temperature, heat demand, reinjection requirements, chemistry and operating costs ultimately determines the resource's usefulness.
The 53–54°C temperature estimate therefore becomes particularly important when combined with the 250 m³/h target.
If both parameters are achieved, engineers can calculate the thermal power potentially available from the produced water.
A simplified heat-output calculation depends on the mass flow rate, the specific heat capacity of water and the temperature difference between the geothermal fluid and the reinjection or return temperature.
That means the actual useful heat output cannot be determined from the headline temperature alone.
Detailed testing after drilling will therefore be critical.
Mineralisation Will Also Matter
Another parameter being monitored is water chemistry.
The expected mineralisation is below 60 g/dm³.
Geothermal water can contain dissolved minerals and gases that influence how a geothermal system must be designed and operated. High mineralisation can create challenges involving scaling, corrosion, treatment and reinjection.
Consequently, the chemical characteristics of the Września resource will be an important component of the project's technical assessment.
A successful geothermal development requires more than drilling into a permeable formation.
The project must ultimately demonstrate that the water can be produced, used and managed safely over the operating life of the system.
This is why geothermal projects normally move from exploration into a much more detailed phase of well testing, water analysis, reservoir assessment and engineering design.
NFOŚiGW Is Reducing Exploration Risk
One of the most important features of the Września project is its financing structure.
NFOŚiGW is providing approximately PLN 10.27 million in funding for the project, while the total project cost is approximately PLN 10.37 million net.
This support addresses one of the biggest barriers to geothermal development: subsurface risk.
Before a well is drilled, developers cannot know with complete certainty exactly what geological and hydrogeological conditions will be encountered.
A municipality may have geological surveys suggesting the presence of a geothermal resource, but drilling remains the point at which the subsurface model is tested directly.
For local governments, that uncertainty can make the first well difficult to finance.
Poland's national geothermal programme is designed partly to address this problem.
According to NFOŚiGW, the programme "Udostępnianie wód termalnych w Polsce" supports municipalities in exploring and recognising underground geothermal resources. The programme has agreements with 41 municipalities, with total funding of approximately PLN 573 million.
Września is one of those projects.
Five Geothermal Exploration Projects in Greater Poland
Września is also part of a broader geothermal exploration effort in Wielkopolska, where five projects are being implemented with NFOŚiGW support.
At the national level, the programme demonstrates how Poland is attempting to move geothermal development beyond individual projects and toward a broader exploration strategy.
According to NFOŚiGW, 13 projects under the programme had already been completed, with 11 wells classified as positive and two as negative based on the results available as of September 2026.
That experience illustrates the central reality of geothermal exploration: drilling outcomes are not guaranteed.
Some wells confirm useful resources while others do not deliver the expected parameters.
This makes exploration funding particularly important because it allows municipalities to investigate their geological potential without carrying the entire initial risk themselves.
From Exploration Well to Geothermal Heating
The next stage after drilling will be crucial.
If GT-1 confirms water with suitable temperature, flow and chemical characteristics, the municipality will still need to determine how that resource can be integrated into the local energy system.
That could require additional infrastructure, including production and reinjection systems, heat-exchange equipment, pumps, pipelines and potentially a geothermal heating plant.
The economics will also depend on the distance between the geothermal well and heat consumers.
A geothermal resource is most valuable when the energy can be efficiently delivered to a sufficiently large and stable heat demand.
For Września, the existing local heating system could therefore become an important component of the project's future development.
The government's description of the project specifically identifies the possibility of using geothermal water in the local heating system if appropriate parameters are confirmed.
Geothermal Could Become Part of Września's Energy Strategy
If the exploration programme is successful, geothermal energy could give Września another locally sourced heat option.
Unlike a fuel-based heating system, geothermal heat does not depend on continuously purchasing fuel to obtain the primary thermal resource. The underground reservoir provides the energy source, while electricity is required for pumps and other equipment.
This does not mean geothermal heating is automatically inexpensive.
Capital costs, drilling costs, pumping requirements, maintenance, chemistry management and reinjection all influence project economics.
Nevertheless, geothermal heat can offer an attractive long-term option where the subsurface resource and local heat demand are well matched.
The project could also provide opportunities beyond conventional district heating.
NFOŚiGW has identified greenhouse heating and tourism among possible applications of the geothermal water if the resource proves suitable.
That creates the possibility of developing a broader local geothermal economy around a successful well.
Why the Drilling Results Matter More Than the Ceremony
The September inauguration attracted national and local decision-makers, but the most important phase is now taking place beneath the ground.
The drilling rig will ultimately determine whether the geological assumptions behind GT-1 are correct.
The critical milestones will include reaching the planned target depth, identifying the expected water-bearing formation, completing the well, carrying out flow testing and analysing the produced water.
Only after those stages will it become possible to determine the resource's practical potential.
This is particularly important when discussing geothermal projects publicly.
A drilling rig on site demonstrates commitment to exploration.
It does not, by itself, prove the existence of a commercially viable geothermal resource.
The resource has to be demonstrated through testing.
For Września, the next few months will therefore be about converting geological expectations into measurable data.
What Happens If GT-1 Is Successful?
If the well confirms the expected parameters, Września would have a foundation for considering a geothermal heating development.
The municipality would then have to evaluate the engineering and economics of the system.
That could include:
- Long-term production testing.
- Detailed water chemistry analysis.
- Reservoir and hydrogeological assessment.
- Reinjection strategy.
- Heat-demand analysis.
- Pipeline and heat-exchanger design.
- Geothermal plant design.
- Capital and operating cost analysis.
- Financing for the next phase.
- Integration with the existing heating network.
This transition—from exploration to utilisation—is where geothermal projects become significantly more complex.
A successful well is therefore an important milestone, but not the final investment decision.
Poland's Geothermal Pipeline Is Expanding
Września is emerging at a time when Poland is expanding public support for geothermal exploration and preparing additional instruments for geothermal development.
NFOŚiGW says it is preparing mechanisms to support the development of existing geothermal wells and installations, including a Heating Transformation Fund covering construction, expansion and modernisation of geothermal heating plants as well as geothermal well construction and reconstruction.
A separate programme funded through Norwegian funds, "Green Transformation – Geothermal Energy," is also planned to support geothermal heating systems and the development of geothermal sources.
This is significant because the biggest challenge for municipalities does not necessarily end when a successful exploration well is completed.
The next challenge is converting the underground resource into a functioning energy asset.
Września GT-1 Is a Test of Poland's Direct-Use Geothermal Potential
The Września project represents a form of geothermal development that is particularly relevant to Central European energy systems: direct heat utilisation.
At an expected temperature of around 53–54°C, the resource is being investigated primarily for applications where heat itself is the product.
This contrasts with geothermal projects designed primarily for electricity generation, where much higher resource temperatures are generally desirable.
For Września, the central objective is therefore practical: determine whether the underground thermal water can become a reliable part of the local heating system.
The answer will depend on what the drill bit finds.
The Road Ahead to February 2027
According to NFOŚiGW, drilling began in the third quarter of 2026, with completion planned for February 2027.
Between now and then, the project will move through the demanding stages of drilling and geological evaluation.
Every metre drilled will provide additional information about the subsurface.
Every geological layer encountered will help refine the understanding of the resource.
And once the target formation is reached, testing will determine whether the expected temperature, flow and chemistry can be achieved.
For Września, the outcome could mark the beginning of a new chapter in local energy infrastructure.
For Poland's geothermal sector, the project provides another opportunity to demonstrate how publicly supported exploration can convert geological potential into practical heat resources.
The most important number, however, will ultimately not be the planned 1,460-metre depth.
It will be the set of measured results returned from the completed well.
Września GT-1 is now entering that test.
If the subsurface delivers the expected combination of temperature, flow and water quality, the project could provide the geological foundation for a future geothermal heating system. If the parameters differ significantly from expectations, the drilling results will still provide valuable geological information for the municipality and the wider Polish geothermal sector.
Either way, the drilling campaign represents another concrete step in Poland's continuing effort to investigate the heat beneath its cities.
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