Michael Kaloki

The operators of the MV Hondias ship say passengers from at least 12 countries, among them six Americans, had previously disembarked on the South Atlantic island of St.

Helena.

Hantavirus is a rodent-borne virus which can cause fatal respiratory illness.

Before departing for the Canary Islands, the ship had been stationed for several days off the coast of Cape Verde, where authorities had refused to grant permission for the ship to dock, citing the move as a precautionary measure.

The U.S.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is closely monitoring the situation, adding the risk to the U.S.

public is extremely low.

For NPR News, I'm Michael Kaloki in Nairobi.

Hello! You're listening to Business Daily from the BBC World Service. I'm Michael Kaloki. Today we're looking at Kenya as a leading producer of geothermal power on the African continent. Globally, geothermal energy is a niche but growing industry, with power plants around the world generating reliable electricity for factories, schools, shops and homes.

The country is now building what some are calling Africa's first geothermal-powered city. So how did geothermal energy grow to become so vital for Kenya, turning the East African nation into one of Africa's leading producers? That's all coming up in Business Daily from the BBC.

Geothermal energy is a type of renewable energy that uses heat from beneath the Earth's surface to generate power. It currently provides a small share of the global energy supply, but it's steady, reliable and growing. The International Energy Agency says geothermal could supply up to 15% of the rise in global electricity demand by 2050.

Keniassa erityinen mahdollisuus on ympärillä. East African Rift Valleyn vulkaanitilanteissa tektoninen aktiivisuus kääntää maailman rauhoja, laajentamassa paljon geotermallista energiaa, jota maa harjoittelee voimasta.

I'm just leaving Kenya's capital, Nairobi. I'm heading towards the Mwiga area of Nyeri County, about 160 kilometers north of the capital, to meet Dr. Patrick Kariuki, the director of the Geothermal Training and Research Institute at Dedan Kimathi University of Technology, to learn more about how Kenya is tapping into this underground energy. Geothermal energy is actually the energy that comes from steam.

Olkaria on vulkaaninen alue Kenian suurimmasta geotehno-energiakompleksista. Ja fumeroleja, joita Dr. Kariuki mainitsi, ovat ympäristössä maan ympäristössä, jotka saavat vettä ja vulkaanisia gasseja. Kun ymmärrämme, että meillä on mahdollisuus, niin käytämme muutamia asioita. Teemme 3G, teemme geologisen tutkimuksen,

After a tour of Dr. Kariuki's lab to learn about the science behind geothermal, I head out to see how the industry is harnessing that energy. I'm visiting a power plant run by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company, better known as Kenjin, in Olkaria, about 130 kilometers northwest of Nairobi.

Olen melko suurelta ympäristöä ja kun katsotaan ympäristöä, näen, mitä näyttää suurelta ympäristöä, jossa on piippuja ympäristöstä toisesta. Näen myös vettä, joka on ympäristöjen ympäristöistä. Täällä minulla on Viktor Otieno, joka työskentelee Kenjin geologiasta. Viktor, voitko kertoa minulle, mitä täällä tapahtuu?

Olen Michael Kaloki Keniassa, katsomassa, miten maa harjoittelee geotermalista energiaa. Kenjin kehittyy kapasiteettinsa jatkuvissa investointeissa uusiin geotermalisten projekteihin. Työntekijä on myös nykyään asentamassa maahanmuuttajaparkin, joka on olemassa paikallisessa mediassa Afrikan ensimmäisessä geotermalipohjaisessa maassa.

The industrial park will provide commercial and recreational facilities. Kenjen is a state-owned corporation, but is geothermal energy production an attractive prospect to the private sector? Dr. Jo Kiiru, an economics lecturer at the University of Nairobi, believes it is. It is attracting big players. And one of the reasons why it's attracting big players is because of the initial investments.

Kenia's Ministry of Energy says it expects independent power producers to provide affordable power, while recognizing that these producers rely on consistent and predictable government policies. But how can the financial potential of a country's energy sources be worked out? The question that everybody is asking is, does Kenya have enough energy for our own use?

Katsomassa tulevaisuudesta, mikä on Kenian suurimmat taloudelliset mahdollisuudet, jos se jatkuu rajoittamaan geotehnollisen energiaa?