SkyPower 2000 MW Solar Photovoltaic Projects in Kenya

Home solar Kits

Canadian solar developer SkyPower is the world’s largest developer and owner of utility-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) energy projects.
During the July 2015 6th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) in Nairobi, SkyPower signed US$2.2 billion agreement to develop and build 1 000 MW of world-class solar energy projects in Kenya. SkyPower also announced donation of 2 million SkyPower Home solar kits to people of Kenya
The company has now announced that it would double the US$2.2 billion it agreed to invest in Kenya to a massive US$ 4.4 billion investments during the Business Council for International Understanding in New York.
The company also announced that it will establish education, training, research and development center in Kenya to advance solar energy. They will also donate 3600 solar street lamps to Kenya.

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Update: October 2015

Sky Power Global signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Kericho County Government.
The county government will lease out a 400 acre parcel of land to Sky Power to set up solar power plant at Kipsitet – Muhoroni area. The plant is expected to generate between 50-100MW.

Kenya Energy Audits

Energy audit is an inspection, survey and analysis of energy flows for energy conservation in a building, process or system to reduce the amount of energy input into the system without negatively affecting the output(s).

The aim is to have energy conservation by efficient utilization. This will reduce energy expense without compromising productivity.

Kenya Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) published The Energy (Energy Management) Regulations in 2012. It mandated consumers of more than 180,000 KWh annual to carry out energy audits on their premises using ERC-licensed auditors every three years.

Large power consumers, mainly comprising of industries located around Nairobi account for about 60 per cent of the Kenya’s total electricity consumption.

According to ERC, about Sh43 million is lost every day through inefficient electricity consumption equipment. The target is to save at least 30 per cent per institution within three year period. This will reduce energy costs, especially for industries, to allow cheap manufactured goods.

The ERC regulations require the targeted facilities to set up an energy management committee and designate energy officer. Develop and submit energy management policies to ERC for approval. The institutions are also required to submit audit reports and implementation plans to the commission.

The targeted facilities required to comply with the directive to carry out energy audits are about 3 500 in the country. They consist of commercial buildings, hotels, large institutions such as universities, hospitals, and industries.

The penalties for failure to comply with the regulations are; a fine of Kenya Sh 1 million, one-year imprisonment for the facility head or both. The delay in submission of the implementation report will result in Sh 30,000 fine per day.

This year statutory deadline to submit energy audits is on September 28, 2015.

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Read: How to become a Licensed Energy Auditor in Kenya

Kenya’s Geothermal Juggernaut ranks eight in the Word

Global Geothermal Energy

Kenya is now ranked as the world eighth largest producer of geothermal energy. Kenya’s installed geothermal power capacity now stands at about 600 MW, which accounts for 29% of Kenya’s total electricity production, up from the previous 13% in 2011. The new boost to make 29% of the energy mix could possibly put Kenya in the second position in the world. (Iceland holds the top spot in the world in that category, in 2013, 25% of Iceland electricity was generated using geothermal power).

Geothermal energy has lead to cuts in Kenya’s electrical power imports by half and lowered customer bills. Kenya will also export 30 MW of electricity to Rwanda, mainly from the Olkaria geothermal.
The top countries with geothermal energy are shown in the embedded chart. It also includes installed national generating capacity. The top ten countries in installed geothermal power capacity are: United States, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, New Zealand, Italy, Iceland, Kenya, Japan, and Turkey
The world geothermal energy operating capacity in about 12, 800 MW as of January 2015, spread across 24 countries. Kenya contributed approximately 4.7% to this total capacity. The global geothermal energy is projected to reach about 30, 000 MW by the year 2030, if all counties follow through on their geothermal goals.
Kenya envision adding another 560 MW of geothermal power to the national grid to make a total of about 1,000 MW by 2019 by expanding the Olkaria geothermal plant. And according to Kenya’s Vision 2030 development blueprint, Kenya expects to have a total of 5,500 MW generated from geothermal.

Kenya to export 30 MW of electricity to Rwanda

Flag pins Kenya-Rwanda

Kenya will sell 30MW of electricity to Rwanda via Uganda in the next three months.
Rwanda received a $50 million syndicated loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to finance the project

Works on a 400 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line running from Olkaria geothermal power production in Kenya, via Uganda to Birembo will be completed at the end of September 2015.
Rwanda signed a five-year contract with Kenya through the country’s power distributor Kenya Power. Rwanda will pay $14 cents per kilowatt of power imported. The contract will be reviewed after every two years.

Selling power to Rwanda is also part of the East African Power Pool project which promotes power exchanges between utilities in Eastern Africa region.

East meets west to partner on 100 MW Kipeto wind power

General Electric Co. of USA and Sinomach of China have agreed to build energy infrastructure projects valued at $2 billion in emerging markets, beginning with Kipeto wind farm project in Kajiado County, Kenya.
They will jointly develop the 100 MW Kipeto wind power unit as the pilot project for the collaboration in clean energy.
The Kipeto project will become the second-biggest wind power project in Kenya after the 300 MW wind farm being set up near Lake Turkana.
The Kipeto wind project will be connected to the national grid once complete. The clean energy projects are under Obama’s Power Africa initiative.
The project was announced during US President Barack Obama’s visit to Kenya. It will be financed by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), which operates as the US government’s development finance institution.

Marigat Biomass Energy using the invasive Prosopis Juliflora tree

Prosopis Juliflora ‘Mathenge’ tree

The term “biomass” encompasses diverse fuels derived from timber, agriculture and food processing wastes or from fuel crops that are specifically grown or reserved for electricity generation.
The Cummins Cogeneration Kenya Ltd intends to put up a 12 MW – per year – biofuel plant in Marigat, Baringo County at a cost of Shs 220 million (US$22 million).
The power plant will be fed by the Prosopis Juliflora tree commonly known as “Mathenge”. It was named after a botanist who went by the name Mathenge who initiated it. The tree was first introduced in Kenya in 1973 from Brazil for the rehabilitation of quarries in Mombasa by Bamburi Cement.
It was later introduced in Baringo, Tana and Pokot areas to serve as a windbreak to cut erosion, slow desertification and curb fuel wood shortages. Baringo has a Mathenge forest cover of about 30,000 hectares, the highest density of the invasive plant in Kenya. The forest can serve the power plant for over 20 years.
Prosopis Juliflora is a hardy plant that grows very fast even with little water and is ready for harvest within two to three years. The harvested plant grows back to its original size in 16 to 18 months.
The mathenge tree produces good quality fuel, about 5000 kcal/kg, which burns well even when freshly cut. The waste from the combustion process can be recycled into charcoal briquettes for sale. The tree will be transformed from an invasive weed to a cash crop.
The unit price of producing electricity from biomass is 8 US cents per KWh. Biomass ranks second as the cheapest source of energy after geothermal power, which costs 6.4 US cents; and beats hydro and thermal, which cost 12.5 US cents and 10.2 US cents respectively according to 2012 estimates.
The Prosopis Juliflora tree has successfully been used as feedstock at energy generation plants in India.
The biomass energy project will be off-grid and will be distributed under the supervision of the local government. It is a perfect example of an off-grid power source which has been lauded as a solution to tackling energy poverty. And integrating the biomass power with the Perkerra irrigation scheme could serve as a catalyst in mitigating rural poverty in Marigat.

Kiambere and Tana Delta 320 MW Solar Project

Hitachi Solar Inverters & PV Power Station

The integrated solar program will be implemented in Kiambere and Tana Delta within the next three years. It will be spearheaded by the Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA) in collaboration with Ultra Clean Energy Solutions (EA) Limited and Hitachi India (PVT) Limited.
The project will produce 320 MW of power for the national grid, with 200,000 solar panels being set up in 800 hectares of land. The cost of the solar project is Sh49.6 billion (US$ 0.5 billion). The power produced is expected to be added to the national grid and serve the whole country.
The project was revealed during the launch of TARDA four-year strategic plan (2014-2018). The solar project launched will generate clean energy for Kenya
The space beneath the panels will be used to grow soya beans for consumption, further helping in improving food security in the country.

Kenya First Flywheel Energy Storage Technology to be set up in Marsabit

ABB’s Power Store Blueprint

Kenya will soon be getting its first flywheel storage project. The system, commissioned by Socabelec East Africa, is intended to support a microgrid serving a community of 5,000 people in Marsabit, the capital of the Kenyan county of the same name.

Marsabit is a remote location in northern Kenya, making it impossible to link it with any grid in the country.

The ABB’s PowerStore is a compact and versatile flywheel-based grid stabilizing generator. Its main purpose is to stabilize power systems against fluctuations in frequency and voltage. It includes state-of-the-art inverters and virtual generator control software. It enables the integration of intermittent and often erratic renewable generation and the higher utilization of renewable energy generators, protecting remote communities from exposure to volatile oil prices. The ABB’s microgrid solution ordered in Kenya will boost renewable energy usage.
When used for hybrid applications, – like Marsabit diesel generators and two 275-kilowatt wind turbines – flywheels will stabilize the grid, enable any excess wind energy generated to be used. It can provide near instantaneous power to bridge other resources. They also have long lives that can keep costs lower in remote areas.
Swiss grid giant ABB’s 500-kilowatt PowerStore stabilization system in Marsabit is expected to be completed by 2016.
A recent study carried out for the German government concluded that Kenya was ripe for development as an energy storage market – particularly if the country’s isolated rural communities are to be served by local microgrids.
A number of other areas where energy storage could gain traction in Kenya includes the telecommunications, tourism and mining.
Read: Kenya’s Storage Market Is Budding – by Greentech Media

Kenya is represented at GulfSol 2015 summit in Dubai

GulfSol 2015

GulfSol is a key event in the Middle East dedicated to the solar industry, showcasing the very latest solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies available in the region. This will be the 2^nd year Dubai hosts GulfSol which will have new workshops and host the Global Solar Leaders Summit; a high level summit bringing together senior government officials and private sector stakeholders from across MENA to discuss and debate the region’s solar future.

GulfSol 2015 will kick off on September 14 and run for two days at the World Trade Centre, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates

Kenya is represented at the Dubai solar energy summit. Henry Rotich, Minister of Finance and Acting Minister of Energy, Kenya will address the summit.

Read: Dubai set for big solar energy summit by Trade Arabia.

Electricity prices per Kilowatt hour in East Africa – Jan 2015 and Sep 2015

Last month, the Kenya Energy and Regulatory Commission (ERC) increased fuel prices for the fourth time in a row, citing the sliding shilling.

Electricity prices in East Africa

ERC director-general Joe Ng’ang’a said that, save for diesel and kerosene, the average landing cost of super petrol increased by 1.25 per cent, from $718.97 per tonne in June to $727.97 per tonne in July.

“On the other hand, we saw the average landed cost of imported kerosene during the period drop by 11.74 per cent from $619.21 per tonne to $546.52 per tonne. Additionally, that of diesel also decreased by 8.90 per cent, from $610.94 per tonne to $556.55 per tonne,” said Mr Ng’ang’a.

The price of super petrol has increased by 15 per cent in the past four months owing to the volatility of the shilling

by The East African