Potential of cascaded use of geothermal energy to uplift fish production in Kenyan aquaculture

Kenya's population in 2020 was 52m and projected to be 70m by 2033 thus raising demand for food by a factor of 10-15%. Currently, the Kenyan food basket relies on poultry and fish for white meat. The poultry is derived from small-scale farmers while the fish are obtained from Lake Victoria, Lake Naivasha, Lake Turkana and the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, the lakes mentioned have longstanding challenges of overfishing and their fish production, 100, 000MT/yr on average, has been declining over time. Lack of advanced fishing vessels in the Indian Ocean limits Kenyan ability to scrape up significant marine fish. In 2019, Kenyan aquaculture produced about 20, 000MT of fish from artificial ponds at a backdrop of a countrywide annual demand of 700, 000MT. Besides, the Kenyan fish industry faces additional challenges of limited coldhandling facilities for chilling the fish from the source to the markets since most fish production areas are off the grid. The traditional alternatives for cold storage systems in Kenya are fishsmoking and sun-drying which dehydrate the fish to lengthen the shelf life, compromising on taste and sanitation. This paper looks into the various ways injection of geothermal energy into aquaculture in Kenya could improve production. The paper also compares the competitiveness of geothermal energy to solar energy for suitability to powering aquaculture. As the direct utilization of geothermal energy is localized near the resource or in locations with significant geothermal gradients, the paper seeks to rank the best locations for energy boosted aquaculture in Kenya and those regions that are best suited for other renewable energy sources; solar, wind and biomass.