History favours nations that dare to reimagine themselves.
President William Ruto has committed that Kenya must journey toward First World
status. We, in the energy sector, have mapped a quiet force of reform anchored
on energy that is affordable, clean and inclusive to power this vision.
For decades, our energy story has been one of progress. From the early electrification drive to our current position as Africa’s renewable energy leader, we have laid a strong foundation of success.
We already generate over 90 per cent of our electricity from renewable sources, and our geothermal capacity ranks among the top 10 globally. We have proven that sustainability and growth can coexist, and that Africa need not imitate, but innovate.
What we are now building is not a departure from that foundation, but its next evolution. That is a new energy architecture that transforms existing strengths into engines of industrial power.
It is a bold investment to underpin President Ruto’s quest to lift Kenya into the First World. A nation where energy no longer just lights homes, but drives factories, fuels exports, and creates wealth at every level of society.
For too long, success in energy has been measured by access rates. That era is ending. Our next frontier is to measure economic productivity per kilowatt. To ensure every megawatt produced translates into value, jobs and competitiveness.
This calls for deeper coordination between energy and industry. A new national alignment mechanism, in a whole-of-nation approach, will bring together the ministries of Energy, Trade, Agriculture and Industry to ensure that new power generation directly supports economic clusters, from manufacturing parks to agro-processing zones and logistics corridors.
We are already seeing this model succeed. The KenGen–Kaishan Green Fertiliser Plant at Olkaria, Africa’s first geothermal-powered ammonia facility, is a living symbol of what the future holds. That is clean energy fertilising both our soils and our economy.
Kenya’s future industrial power will be measured by how efficiently we convert clean energy into competitive advantage.
The new energy architecture envisions Carbon-Free Manufacturing Zones, beginning with Olkaria as a global pilot for green exports. Here, geothermal steam will not only generate power but also power production, demonstrating that sustainability can be a source of profit.
To sustain this growth, we will seek ways to blend domestic savings with concessional and carbon finance, ensuring the private sector becomes a partner, not a passenger, in the journey to net zero. This aligns our national priorities with the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative and global climate commitments made at CoP28.
Kenya’s energy system seeks to reward productivity, not merely consumption. Our vision is to transition to a smart pricing model that encourages industrial performance, rewards efficiency and empowers communities to produce and trade energy locally.
Through peer-to-peer trading and decentralised systems, communities with solar, mini-hydro or wind capacity should be able to sell surplus power into the grid. This is Ubuntu in action, prosperity that is shared becomes prosperity that endures.
At the national level, smart tariffs will ensure that firms creating jobs, exports and innovation pay less per unit of energy used, while those wasting it pay more. Such fairness will make energy both an enabler and a discipline.
Policy without data is guesswork. That is why we are working to reinforce the national digital command hub by integrating real-time data from generation, transmission and consumption.
Using artificial intelligence, it will forecast demand, enhance grid stability and optimise investment decisions. This innovation engine will also incubate youth-led start-ups in electric mobility, battery storage and smart metering. When we empower data, we empower decisions; when we empower youth, we power the future.
The Olkaria green fertiliser project has proven that energy can drive food security. By using geothermal steam instead of fossil fuels, we are producing affordable, low-carbon fertiliser at scale.
This approach must now extend to other value chains. Clean energy will power decentralised agro-processing hubs, provide geothermal and solar heat for post-harvest drying, and supply cold storage to preserve farm output. Our goal is simple: at least one-third of Kenya’s agricultural exports should be processed using renewable energy.
When the farmer, the factory and the financier are connected by clean power, national resilience follows.
Kenya’s energy transformation will succeed only if it is human-centred. That is why our energy architecture prioritises skills, inclusion and ownership. We have to train at least 10,000 technicians annually in geothermal, hydrogen and digital-grid technologies.
Beyond skills, we have to deepen community equity participation in renewable projects. Local residents will not only host clean energy projects, they will own them. Energy justice must mean access, agency, and equity. As the Akan say, “Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it.” Progress must be participatory.
Kenya’s leadership in clean energy is continental. We seek to host the 2029 World Geothermal Congress in Nairobi, and through it we will give Africa a stronger voice in shaping global energy policy.
From this platform, we will advance an African Geothermal Development Compact, a cooperative model through which African nations can pool resources, share infrastructure and build regional value chains. This is Harambee at a continental scale, shared growth, shared prosperity.
Our vision is clear. Energy must no longer be seen as a cost centre but as a strategic investment in Kenya’s First World future. Every shilling spent must yield measurable productivity, every project must strengthen resilience and every innovation must inspire inclusion.
This energy architecture builds on what works, fixes what doesn’t, and imagines what could be. It stands as Kenya’s contribution to a world searching for sustainable growth, a model of how industrialisation, equity, and environmental stewardship can coexist.
When future generations look back, they will not speak only of turbines and transmission lines. They will remember that we turned energy into empowerment, heat into hope, and ambition into achievement.
The time for boldness is now. Let us light the way.
Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum
