•In fact, Kenya is the world’s eighth largest geothermal power producer, has the continent’s largest wind farm, a vibrant off grid energy market, and an aggressive last mile campaign to connect every citizen.
•Notably, the Government’s Kenya Vision 2030 aspires to transform Kenya from low-income status into a middle-income country and a key element to this vision is a lower cost of power reaching more broadly across the population.
Image: WIKIMEDIA
With the ever-growing population, advanced technological developments and climate change, the world continues to face challenges as far as energy needs are concerned. In order to meet its energy requirements, the Government of Kenya set out to install nuclear energy reactors as an alternative source of renewable energy in addition to hydropower, wind and geothermal power, among others, in the country.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, Kenya expects peak demand to top 22,000 megawatts by 2031, partly due to industrial expansion, a key component in President Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda. Currently, it is estimated that hydropower accounts for 35% of Kenya’s electricity generation, with the rest coming from geothermal, wind and diesel powered plants.
As Kenya seeks to realize the national blueprint for development and the sustainable development agenda as far as energy generation is concerned, there have been efforts to diversify energy sources in the country. It has been observed that Kenya is moving towards procuring more of its additional power from wind and solar. With the substantial growth in hydro, wind and solar energy in the recent years, this has led to a decline in generation from oil, gas and coal sources and electricity imports.
In fact, Kenya is the world’s eighth largest geothermal power producer, has the continent’s largest wind farm, a vibrant off grid energy market, and an aggressive last mile campaign to connect every citizen. Notably, the Government’s Kenya Vision 2030 aspires to transform Kenya from low-income status into a middle-income country and a key element to this vision is a lower cost of power reaching more broadly across the population.
As the African Continent seeks to invest in infrastructural development, including the power sector, Kenya is touted as one of the countries that have made notable progress. For instance, the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa is forecasting an additional 140,000 MW of power over for the East African Power Pool; where Kenya's share of this is 13,852 MW of planned peak demand by 2038 or an increase of just over 11,000 MW over this 20-year period.Despite this positive report, Kenya’s energy sector is facing by a myriad of challenges.
As far as the use of clean energy is concerned, two-thirds of Kenya’s energy currently comes from bioenergy. Additionally, moving an economy that relies heavily on wood fuel and biomass as its largest energy source is a tall order – especially in the face of non-renewable oil and coal discoveries that could be more readily accessible in spite of its known effects on the environment is a great challenge. Encouraging energy efficiency Promoting energy efficiency practices is not only as a way to ensure that there is enough energy for all but also as a climate mitigation measure.
As a result, Kenya’s Climate Change Action Plan 2018–2022 has prioritized enhancement of energy efficiency as one of the priority actions to mitigate climate change in the country. Producing power without promoting efficient consumption of the same will mean that it may be counterproductive as it may never be enough for everyone. At Laser Infrastructure and technology Solutions (LITES), we are leading by example.
Over the last two years, in collaboration with various partners, an additional 12,400 households will now have access to grid power under the Last Mile Connectivity Project. This is a Government of Kenya programme that is aimed at facilitating the objective of affordably connecting Kenyan households to the national network grid. This is geared towards achieving a national connectivity as part of the government’s goal of universal access to electricity by 2020. We have installed 52 KW of photovoltaic Solar panels at CPF House (our head office) and are charting the path towards the adoption of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in Kenya through the provision of Level one electric car chargers at our head office.
Level one electric car chargers are the least expensive option and are provided upon purchase of one Nissan Leaf as a pooled vehicle for local runs. Level one chargers plug into a standard wall outlet. They are also the slowest type of EV charger available and one charging station will be able to offer about 8.05KM of range per hour of charging. This type of charging station is best for overnight use at home.
We have also installed 100 KW solar power at Freedom Heights, 26 KW solar power at Metro Park and another 50 KW at Pension Towers for captive consumption.While there is a need for the Government of Kenya to invest in infrastructure as well as upgrading energy technology to ensure that all Kenyans have access to modern and sustainable energy, continued promotion of diverse methods of enhancing efficiency across sectors is a worthwhile exercise in line with Kenya’s quest for Sustainable Development.
The writer is the Executive Director of Laser Infrastructure and Technology Solutions (LITES), an ICT and infrastructure subsidiary of CPF Financial Services.