Kenya has more generation capacity than is needed by the grid, thanks to the capacity added from geothermal power plants in the Rift Valley. While geothermal can be among the cheapest forms of energy, it will still be more expensive than hydroelectric generation. However, geothermal runs essentially 24/7/365, whereas hydroelectric can be seasonal, and it can also be affected by a drought.

The problem with geothermal is it has relatively very high capital expenditure to drill for steam and then construct the plant that generates electricity. So while there is ten to fifiteen GW of further capacity, these plants are not constructed until there is demand by the market. With a very large population that is very young yet, additional power will be needed in the upcoming years. But until then, not all that much further geothermal capacity is coming online.

Bitcoin could be that buyer that will subsidize this needed additional generation capacity, by being the buyer of the electricity that will justify building the plants now, ahead of the ultimate increased demand by the grid.

Kenya's KenGen energy company has already announced that there are bitcoin mining ops interested in the excess geothermal capacity.