Kenya has had a
taste of the consequences of high costs of electricity and erratic electric
power generation. Droughts experienced in recent years had driven water heights
in major dams to precarious levels, that power industry authorities were left
with no other conceivable choice but to rely on imported fuel to produce
electricity. High cost of available fuel in the international market drove
electricity prices up – a burden that would have to be passed on to industrial
and private consumers that were fortunate enough to be connected to power lines.
While rising
energy prices were the bane of these end-users, approximately 90% of Kenya’s
rural population and an estimated 45% of the country’s urban residents were yet
to gain access to electricity, while a projected 60% of Kenya’s total
population still used biomass as a source of energy for cooking.
The energy
situation in Kenya was far from being stable, to say the least.
Kenya’s renewable energy potential
The country’s
energy situation represented a daunting affair for any government to try to
overturn. But somehow, something has to be started somewhere, so Kenyan
authorities trained their gaze on renewable energy sources for solutions.
Today, Kenya’s renewable energy sector is touted to be one of the most active
in Africa, with investments in wind, geothermal, small-scale hydro and biomass
rising from virtually zero in 2009 to approximately USD 1.3 billion in recent
years. Kenya is considered to be the largest producer of geothermal power in
Africa and is known as a world leader in the number of solar power systems
installed per capita.
Kenya’s
renewable energy sources hold enormous potential. For instance, experts from
the African Energy Policy Research Network 2004 observe that, at an average,
Kenya receives an estimated four to six kWh per square meter per day of solar
insolation, which is equivalent to about 300 million tons of oil. The study
adds that most areas in the country can enjoy the benefits of solar energy,
because they receive more than six hours of direct sunlight per day.
Moreover, according to scientific studies, Kenya
has one of the best wind resources in the world, averaging between three and 10
m/s, with northern Kenya even hitting record speeds of up 11 m/s. Experts
suggest that wind energy facilities can be strategically installed along the
coast and in areas where agricultural production is counter-intuitive, like in
the Northeastern Province. The Lake Turkana Wind Project currently underway is
poised to provide 300 MW of wind power to Kenya’s national grid.
While the
country has already been thriving in geothermal energy production, experts say
that only two per cent of the country’s geothermal potential has been tapped,
adding that the total estimated potential for geothermal power capacity in
Kenya is in the area of 7,000 to 10,000 MW. Currently, the Geothermal
Development Company has laid out plans to drill 1,400 steam wells to provide
steam for up to 5,000 MW of geothermal power capacity by 2030.
It is not just power; it is empowerment
Beyond
providing large-scale additional power to Kenya’s national energy generation
capacity, renewable energy solutions hold a significance much closer to home.
Owing to their flexibility and scalability, renewable energy sources could be
locally installed in rural and urban communities, and in industrial facilities,
encouraging power decentralization and source diversification. Experts opine
that this fact can potentially be a workable solution to over-dependence on
hydro and thermal power, which could at times be unreliable or expensive.
Decentralized and localized renewable energy projects will find merits in terms
of mitigating the risks of climate change and environmental degradation, as
well as of the rising prices of fuel in the world market. Giving local
communities and industrial players the opportunity to “create” their own power
will additionally pave the way to fully capitalizing on the renewable energy
potential of Kenya and to unraveling further economic growth.
While localized
renewable energy projects in Kenyan rural and urban communities and in
industrial facilities are still in the nascent stages, there are technologies
available that are able to sustain their progress and advancement. Mobile power technologies are designed and engineered to support power generation when
permanent or renewable sources meet challenges in sustaining the electricity
demand. As national frameworks are created to promote renewable energy
investments at the community levels, temporary power stations can provide the
power supply that installed renewable facilities are still not able to produce.
As wind or solar power plants depend on unpredictable natural elements for
“fuel”, interim generators will be able to supplement the generated power in
cases when wind or solar supply is insufficient.
As Kenya
improves its hydropower and thermal energy generation capacities, veering away
from over-reliance on fossil-based power, mobile electric power stations will
be able to support existing permanent power infrastructure in times when the
national electric power requirement outstrips the supply. Owing to the fact
that rental gensets do not require steep initial investment to procure, the
Kenyan government will be able to preserve the budgetary allotment aimed at the
construction of renewable energy facilities at the grass-root levels.
Empowering local communities
National
economic growth may never be sustainable if a significant percentage of a
country’s population and industries has yet to be empowered. Today, with the
advancement in research and technology, local electrification and community empowerment is within reach. Renewable technologies are maturing, and are now
proving to be viable and sustainable sources of energy. As communities and
industrial facilities enjoying the benefits of electric power grow in number,
the road map ahead of a country’s economy becomes increasingly clear.
Empowerment,
however, does not simply mean being connected to the grid. Encapsulated within
the very essence of the word is giving rural and urban communities alike the
opportunity to care for their environment, to plot their own future and to
traverse their own paths to economic and social advancement.
The foregoing article was originally published in the September-October 2014 issue of Kenya Engineer (Intercontinental Publishers, Kenya).
End
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Robert Bagatsing
Altaaqa Global
Tel: +971 56 1749505
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