Economy

Sh1.7bn solar power plants plan to light up remote homes

solar

A solar power farm. Mandera, Garissa, Marsabit and Turkana will benefit from project. PHOTO | FILE

Thousands of homes in northern Kenya will be connected to electricity in a plan to construct 25 small solar-power plants at Sh1.7 billion.

The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) will next year set up the solar mini grids in Garissa, Mandera, Marsabit, Turkana and Wajir which have for long grappled with low electrification, slowing business activity.

“We intend to build a hybrid system with solar providing most of the energy needs and diesel generators acting as backup for the mini grids just in case solar supply is interrupted,” REA chief executive Ng’ang’a Munyu said on Thursday during a partnership ceremony with Nation Media Group.

The agency reckons that the mini grids offer Kenya the shortest route to lighting areas not connected to the national power grid.

Connecting off-grid towns by stretching the national grid is expensive and time consuming, making solar the most viable alternative, according to the REA.

Energy experts reckon that mini grids suit areas located over five kilometres away from the scope of the power national grid.

They involve small power plants (between 10 kilowatts and 10 megawatts) and distribution lines that connect a limited number of customers outside the scope of the national power transmission network.

The grids work well in areas with a dense concentration of homes since distribution lines cover short distances.

Kenya’s small grids market has recently attracted Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen whose private firm Vulcan has constructed 10 solar-powered mini grids in Kajiado and Samburu.

Vulcan officials on Tuesday said that the billionaire investor wanted to use the power projects to demonstrate business viability of rural mini-grids to investors and spark interest in the sector.

READ: Microsoft’s Allen to sell 10 mini solar plants in Kenya

Kenya’s Energy Bill mandates the REA to construct and promote renewable energy sources. “From this financial year, REA has opted to switch from construction of diesel power generating stations that are environmentally unfriendly and expensive to maintain to solar mini grids  for provision of electricity in off-grid areas,” the agency said.

The agency also plans to construct East Africa’s largest solar park plant in Garissa with a capacity of 55 megawatts, enough power to light up 625,000 homes.

The Sh13.7 billion plant will be fed to the national grid and the electricity will cost Sh12 per kilowatt hour – about Sh8 cheaper than diesel-generated power.

Kenya has more than 300 days of sunshine per year, double Germany’s – which is the global leader in solar energy production with a capacity of more than 40,000 megawatts from solar alone.