Kenya rolls out Sh15b solar tender
Kenya will next week tender the Sh15 billion off-grid solar electricity system for North Eastern Kenya as the country moves to boost energy mix using the sun.
According to energy cabinet secretary Charles Keter, the World Bank funded project first announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta in February this year will target 14 Arid and Semi Arid (ASAL) counties with low electrification rates.
“We will go to tender next week for this off grid program that will run under solar and grid,” Keter told the Ephraim Maina-led Senate energy committee during a webinar session yesterday.
Off-grid solar access
Through the off-grid solar access initiative, 250,000 households and over 800 public facilities including schools and centres in the 14 counties will get access to energy.
The deal is part of the government’s initiative to attain an additional 1.9 million solar-based connections through the Kenya National Electrification Strategy (Knes) that was launched in 2018, and will be supervised by the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy (Rerec) and Kenya Power.
Keter told the committee that so far, 22,927 primary schools have been connected with power of which 19,441 are on-grid while 3,486 are solar.
Government Master Plan for the energy sector notes that due to its position on the equator, Kenya is endowed with very high solar resources, among the highest ten of Sub-Saharan African countries.
During the proceedings, Senator Abshiro Halake asked Keter to provide the committee with off-grid and on-grid data for all the 47 counties, information that would form a baseline study to assist the government achieve its last mile connectivity.
Global Energy Agency
Given the challenges posed by conventional energy sources and poverty levels in Kenya, solar energy has high potential – the government, through its energy regulatory framework.
As of October 2019, solar generated 50 MW to the national grid against 2819 MWs.
However, International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that solar photovoltaic energy will contribute 47 per cent of the technology mix for mini-grids and off-the-grid systems power generation in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2040.
