Following the oil shock of 1970, the slow progress of both the Rural Electrification Plan of 1973 and the Rural Electrification Master Plan of 1994 a boom in solar power development and other energy alternatives took root in the country. A survey by the World Energy Council (WEC) notes on Kenya

“With a very large percentage of the urban population and almost all of the rural population having no access to a public supply of electricity, solar-based power could play a significant role in redressing the energy supply/demand picture, raising living standards and stimulating the economy. “

But in as much as it is a known fact that solar power is a critical component in meeting the country’s energy needs, there is little government effort to support such an undertaking. Instead much of the government resources are still channeled to hydro-electric power generation.

The installation of the new administration two years ago has seen renewed vigour in the rethinking of the country’s energy strategy. According to the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation 2003 - 2007 (ERS), which sums up the government’s commitment to development for the said period;

“The three main sources of energy supply in Kenya are electricity, wood fuel petroleum and renewable energy. Energy plays a critical role in the development of the country. The current energy policy objectives emphasises the need for its availability and accessibility at cost effective prices and in support of sustainable socio-economic development while protecting and conserving the environment. In appropriating these sources of energy as tools in the development agenda, the government intends to formulate a comprehensive energy development policy and reform programme embracing all sources of energy, especially renewable ones aimed at fulfilling the energy policy objectives.”

The ERS continues:

“Provision of inexpensive and reliable supply of electricity is the lifeblood of any modern economy. Kenya’s electricity supplies are unreliable and expensive…The objective of the power sector is to ensure a reliable supply of electricity at competitive tariffs. In this connection a number of reforms have been carried out in the power sector since 1994, which included review of tariffs, retrenchment in the key power utility institutions, liberalization of power generation in 1995 and separation of power distribution from generation and regulatory services. Despite these reforms, the quality of electricity services has not improved as evidenced by the frequent unplanned power outages.”

This is the much that the government speaks of power. There is little mention of solar power. The country’s power generating company KENGEN also speaks little of solar power. Instead much of the country’s efforts are concentrated on hydro-electric power. Lately however this trend seems to change in favour of geothermal, wind and bagasse (sugar cane waste, which is capable of producing power. Kenya produces one million tonnes of these each year which goes to waste).
The benefits of exploiting solar and other renewables are legion. There are plenty of reasons for this. “Renewables” not only hold the key for transforming the country’s back waters but they stand to give rural areas in Kenya a new lease of life and bring them at par with other areas. According to the World Energy Council (WEC) “renewable is the term used for forms of energy that can be regenerated, or renewed, in a relatively short amount of time. The regeneration process may be continuous and immediate, as in the case of direct solar radiation, or it may take some hours, months or years. This is the case of wind energy (generated by the uneven heating of air masses), hydro energy (related to the sun-powered cycle of water evaporation and rain), biomass energy (stored in plants through photosynthesis), and the energy contained in marine currents.”

Solar, wind and other renewables are the best sources of energy for Africa’s rural households, however the exploitation of these resources has been wanting not just in Kenya but in the continent as a whole.

That Kenya is a hotspot for wind and solar energy is not in doubt.

A recent study conducted by the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and partly funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) clearly attests to this. The UNEP Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA) found out that some 13 third world countries have thousands of megawatts ready to be tapped in wind and solar potentials to meet their respective energy needs from these renewables.

A pioneering project to map the solar and wind resource of 13 developing countries which kicked off in 2001 discovered thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy potential in Africa, Asia, South and Central America. The $9.3 million dollar project, called the Solar and Wind Energy Resource Assessment (SWERA), which was unveiled three weeks ago in the US has proved that the potential for deploying solar panels and wind turbines in these countries is far greater than previously supposed.

“In developing countries all over the world we have removed some of the uncertainty about the size and intensity of the solar and wind resource. These countries need greatly expanded energy services to help in the fight against poverty and to power sustainable development. The SWERA offers them the technical and policy assistance to capture the potential that renewable energy can offer”, Klaus Toepfer UNEP’s Executive Director says.

According to a UNEP communiqué SWERA project has been developing a range of new information tools to stimulate renewable energy development, including detailed maps of wind and solar resources.

“As energy planners seek cleaner energy solutions using renewable energy technologies, the availability of reliable, accurate and accessible solar and wind energy information is critical and can significantly accelerate the deployment of these technologies”, says Mr. Toepfer.

The results prompted the Nicaraguan National Assembly to pass the Decree on Promotion of Wind Energy of Nicaragua 2004 that gives wind-generated electricity “first dispatch”, meaning it has the first priority over other options when fed into electricity grids.

In Sri Lanka, the SWERA assessment found a land wind power potential of about 26,000 MW representing more than 10 times the country’s installed electrical capacity, while an initial assessment in Ghana reveals more than 2,000 MW of wind energy potential, mainly along the border with Togo. In Africa, this is quite a significant amount, as by some estimates, the continent needs just 40,000 MW of electricity to power its industrialization.

The SWERA report should be food for thought for our energy planners and policy makers. A research conducted in 2003, found out that of all the energy sectors, renewables employ the most people. Indeed Kenya and Mauritius are taunted as the continent’s pace setters and case studies when it comes to renewables. While Kenya has great geothermal potential, this source of power hasn’t been harnessed fully. The geothermal power potential estimates along the Great Rift Valley alone stands at 9,000MW.

Significant exploitation, of this resource has only been done in Kenya alone.

There exists such a potential for grid-connected electricity generation from geothermal in Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, but for lack of financial capabilities these East African countries are unable to exploit these resources. According to Stephen Karekezi, the director of African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPREN), an energy policy think tank, “The potential of geothermal power in Kenya Uganda and Ethiopia stands at 2000, 1000 and 250Mega Watts respectively. Of these Kenya which leads in terms of exploitation of this energy has only managed to harness some 121 Mw. Ethiopia has exploited 2MW and Uganda nil.”

Kenya leads the rest of the continent in terms of her exploitation of both geothermal and solar power, but much more still needs to be done.

The market for photovoltaic (PV) cells - the panels that capture solar energy and convert it into electricity - is stagnant in the US, but in Kenya the sales for PV panels are soaring, despite the fact that they are quite expensive. This phenomenon of Kenya's solar explosion has been necessitated by the people’s search for alternative power. In fact a local leading bank has loan facilities to enable her customers purchase these solar panels. With unreliable rains portending the ill-omen of drought which is ever knocking on Kenya’s doorstep, the harnessing of solar, bagasse, geothermal and wind power would provide the country with a unique status to not only meet her energy demands, but have surplus for other needs.

Presently, the country is gearing itself to harness the benefits accruing from Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), and the issue of energy is crucial as most ICT gadgets rely heavily on power. Apparently, in the entire National ICT Policy Draft Document, which is currently under discussion in various forums, there is little mention of alternative sources of energy. The document assumes that the entire country has electricity. In an effort to make the country ICT complacent and develop our own knowledge society the ICT policy makers should also think on renewables.

The government should enable the citizenry access these panels by reducing the tax tariffs imposed on such materials; offer incentives; and provide subsidies alike to enable more people access power. After all, energy from renewables provides cheap, reliable, safe power to remote areas, and provides a healthy alternative to kerosene and wood.

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