Integration of Environmental Management System in Monitoring of Environmental and Social Aspects Associated with Operation of Olkaria II Geothermal Power Plant in Naivasha Sub-county, Nakuru County, Kenya

摘要

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a legal requirement in Kenya as provided for by Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA) 1999. Besides ensuring compliance with the law, Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) Ltd treats EIA as a tool to anticipate, manage and respond to environmental, social and health risks. The management actions arising from EIAs are usually defined and translated into an Environmental Management Plan (EMP) for the design, construction, operation and/or decommissioning phases of a project. To ensure a better understanding of cause effect relationships between the project and its environment and to improve EIA predictions and mitigation methods, environmental monitoring is necessary. KenGen has integrated the International Standards Organization (ISO 14001:2004) Environmental Management System (EMS) in the management and monitoring of environmental and social aspects associated with its operations. This has positioned the company as an environmentally responsible corporate citizen thus enhancing its corporate image as well as building trust with the local community. KenGen currently generates 430MWe of geothermal energy from four conventional power plants namely: Olkaria I, Olkaria I additional units, Olkaria II and Olkaria IV. Olkaria II power plant has a total installed capacity of 105MWe from three generator units each rated at 35 MWe. This paper seeks to highlight how monitoring of environmental and social aspects associated with the operation of Olkaria II power plant is undertaken by KenGen. Emphasis has been placed on how integration of ISO 14001:2004 into environmental monitoring has been achieved.