Solar industry curves Sh175b of energy spend
Over the last decade, the global off-grid solar industry has grown into a Sh175 billion-a-year market serving more than 420 million users, a report has revealed.
The report by the World Bank Group and Global Off-Grid Lighting Association (Gogla) says about a million off-grid solar products were sold in Kenya in the first six months of last year.
Pay-as-you-go, which involves one paying for a solar product as he continues to use it, is the most popular business model for off-grid products in Kenya.
Since 2017, global revenues from the industry have grown by 30 per cent annually with about 180 million off-grid solar units sold worldwide since 2010.
“Paygo sales grew by 45 per cent in Kenya in the first six months of 2019 compared to the last half of 2018. The high adoption rate of mobile payment solutions in Kenya is contributing to this success,” says a statement from Gogla.
“This report is another confirmation of the significant impact off-grid solar has already achieved, and the massive opportunity that remains going forward,” said Gogla executive director Koen Peters.
The sector has a huge growth potential considering that 840 million people across the globe still lack access to electricity.
Peters was speaking during the biennial global off-grid forum and expo officially opened by the President Uhuru Kenyatta in Nairobi yesterday.
