Alumnus Luke Olang presents research to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during state visit to Kenya

During the state visit German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Olkaria geothermal power station located in Naivasha, Kenya on  6 May 2023, where he affirmed Germanys support in strengthening its energy and climate partnership with Kenya. His visit involved stop-overs in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya where faculty members from the Technical University of Kenya shared their overall technical and research expertise. APPEAR alumnus Prof. Luke Olang, the Director of the Centre of Integrated Water Resources Management (CIWRM-TUK), discussed the possible effects of the flactuating water levels of Lake Naivasha located North of Olkaria geothermal power station. The aim was to explore the drivers and possible interlinkages of the water level flactuations with changes in regional climate, including possible effects on the sustainability of the geothermal energy resource systems. The discussion included preliminary results of the on-going scoping research on ‘Assessing water level fluctuations and implications on local livelihoods in the Great Rift Valley Lakes of Kenya’ funded by the Cooperation Development Research (KoEF), Austria. The research project is undertaken in collaboration Dr. Mathew Herrnegger of the Institute of Hydrology and Water Management, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (HyWa-BOKU).More information about the project can be found here or here.

Herrnegger, M., Stecher, G., Schwatke, C., & Olang, L. (2021). Hydroclimatic analysis of rising water levels in the Great rift Valley Lakes of Kenya. Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, 36, 100857.