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Globally, we continue to witness adverse weather conditions in the form of floods, heavy snow, forest fires, drought, blizzards among others due to climate change. As a country, we need to rethink how we contribute to the effects experienced globally especially in the roads sector which is powered mostly by fossil fuels and 72 percent imported petroleum products. It is projected that the roads sector will increase greenhouse gas emissions by 3 percent in 2030 up from 13 percent in 2015 not to mention the effects it will have on our health.

It is with this sobering reality and a bid to reach Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by thirty two percent by 2030, that the Ministry of Roads and Transport established the Electric Mobility (e-Mobility) Taskforce to develop a National e-Mobility policy, Strategy, Legislations and Regulations for Kenya in August 2023.

On 27^th March 2024, the e-Mobility taskforce launched the draft National e-Mobility policy with a mission to create a pathway towards transportation that is more sustainable, efficient, and equitable, powered by e-Mobility with a vision to position Kenya as a leader in e-Mobility transition in Africa.

The draft policy is guided by seven key objectives that includes developing legal and regulatory frameworks, promoting local manufacturing and assembly of electric vehicles, enhancing e-Mobility infrastructure, building local technical capacity, scaling up socioeconomic measures, reducing over reliance on Road Maintenance Levy (RML) and improving fiscal and non-fiscal measures to promote fast adoption of electric vehicles in Kenya.

During the launch, Cabinet Secretary (CS), Kipchumba Murkomen EGH stated that the Ministry of Roads and Transport has begun the process of assigning green-coloured number plates for all electric vehicles including electric motorbikes. Special plates he added will help raise awareness about electric vehicles.

The use of green number plates as a non-fiscal incentive is a good start but more needs to be done to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. The draft national e-Mobility policy highlights the importance of also having fiscal incentives as part of the policy packages that can encourage Kenyan’s make the ultimate switch from internal combustion engine (ICE) to electric vehicles (EVs).

Currently, to import a fully built electric bus will cost around Kshs 60 million (USD 453,000) while a fully built imported ICE bus will cost around Kshs 25 million (USD 188,000). In the two-wheeler sector, a new electric motorbike costs roughly Kshs 240,000 (USD 1,800) and an ICE motorbike costs about Kshs 200,000 (USD 1500).

During her speech, Rebecca Miano, EGH reiterated the importance of incentives and affirmed stakeholders that the Ministry of Investment, Trade, and Industry is working to incentivize EV manufacturers, assemblers especially batteries which is the most expensive component in the manufacturing of electric vehicles. This policy she added will guide the ministry in the implementation of this.

The draft national e-Mobility Policy is now publicly available. We urge all Kenyans to acquaint themselves with the future of sustainable transport in Kenya by reading the policy and chiming their thoughts as we move the process forward.

The e-Mobility taskforce will now embark on public participation meetings in six regions, commencing mid-April. These meetings will be open to the public, providing an opportunity for them to gain deeper insights into the policy and share their thoughts.

Strathmore University continues to play a pivotal role in developing the policy, with three members of staff actively participating in the e-Mobility taskforce. Professor Izael Da Silva leads the team, alongside Ignatius Maranga and Anne Njoroge.

This article was written by Anne Njoroge, Communications Officer at Strathmore Energy Research Centre, and a member of the e-Mobility Taskforce.

As part of our goal to care for people and the planet, we must look at sustainable methods of living. It is for this reason that the Climate Compatible Growth (CCG) organises an annual Workshop that look into considering a path of low carbon development whilst simultaneously unlocking profitable investment in green infrastructure, opening up new markets and supporting delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals. This year the workshop was a collaboration of Strathmore University through the Strathmore Energy Research Centre and the CCG Research Team themed, Nurturing cross-sectoral connections for a climate-compatible future. The workshop venue was the serene environment of Maanzoni Lodge, which aligns with the theme of sustainability by recycling water from all the output sources.

The two-day workshop kicked off with assurance from government stakeholders from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and EPRA, that the government is committed to renewable energy matters. Dr Faith Wandera highlighted that the government is keen on using the same approach where there is cross-sectoral collaboration on integrated national energy planning, from electricity planning to whole energy systems planning that includes clean cooking which is one of the government’s key agendas by 2028. It was also mentioned that awareness is key in policy-making to ensure the ordinary person gets to understand the impact of CCG.

Robina Abuya from the British High Commission assured of the British government’s support towards this course. She also stated that the British High Commission’s goal was towards Green Urbanization, Green industrialisation and Sustainable Development. The deliverable is to create a cleaner, greener environment.

Dr Lara Allen from the University of Cambridge says CCG has networks in 6 countries. Kenya is the leader and the frontier of these programs. The goal is to create special interest groups of researchers and people who will be able to continue with this mission. She also highlighted that the plan is to position Kenya as a State that will be able to receive research funding from diverse financial institutions that will have a positive long term impact on the people in Kenya.

From  Strathmore University we had Dr. Eng. Julius Butime from the School of Computing and Engineering Sciences. He assured that Strathmore is ready to support this project and it has been at the forefront of research in CCG. He also intimated with enthusiasm the strategic position that Strathmore University is at in ensuring sustainability of the CCG programme in Kenya as a center of excellence and capacity building to ensure sustainability.

The discussions now delved into Kenya’s Clean Cooking Sector led by Dr Faith Wandera. It was noted through research that 68.5% of Kenyans rely on traditional methods of cooking and of the 68.5% which is equivalent to 9.1 Million households 1.7 million households are urban and 7.4 million households are rural. Firewood, Charcoal and LPG are the 3 key primary sources of fuel in Kenya. Within this discussion, they have developed an action plan which includes;

1. Promote local manufacturing
2. Clean Cooking subsidy program
3. Reframe Awareness

Next, we had a presentation from Mungai Kihara from the Directorate of Electricity and Renewable Energy. He remarked that Kenya has the opportunity to grow. 90% of Kenya’s power comes from green energy, and since Kenya’s GDP is mostly built by agriculture, green hydrogen has a good capability to grow. Anne Kiburi Senior Specialist Energy Transition Plan “ Kenyas is at its turning point and has the opportunity to grow”. The discussion was based on the just launched Nenya Energy Transition Investment Plan that provides a harmonized roadmap for the energy sector with a  holistic approach that includes the investment requirement for its implementation. Also, It sets the stage for the development of energy sector targets to be incorporated into future National Blueprint. Martin Mutembei from SERC stated that the Kenya CCG Network programme  takes a holistic and cross-sectoral approach to addressing climate-compatible and inclusive growth.

The programme’s ambition is driven by strong and enduring national, international partnerships and co-creativity. He also mentioned of the current focus in terms work with the concept of “Data-to-Deal” where the term Data-to-Deal refers to actions taken throughout an entire process that runs from data collection, system modeling, and development planning, all the way through to national financing strategies and project finance arrangements to the agreement of a deal (investment), all driven by a strong stakeholder engagement process.

The workshop later went into different panel discussions that were built around the Ppecial Interest Groups (SIGs) discussing:

1. National Level Planning
2. County Level Planning
3. Transport Sector
4. Policy Pathway
5. Clean Cooking
6. Climate Entrepreneurship
7. CLEWS- Climate, Land, Energy and Water Nexus

Article written by:  David Kimathi

At the end of September, Kenya hosted a webinar for the Tanzania and Uganda academic, corporate, and government energy experts to share its key learnings and experience while developing a localized 2050 Carbon Calculator, the Kenya Carbon Emission Reduction Tool (KCERT) 2050.

KCERT 2050 is an engineering-based modelling tool that uses scenario analysis to look at different pathways for decarbonisation and their impact on reducing overall and sectorial greenhouse gas emissions. During its development, the team modelled six sectors: Transport, Industry, Buildings, Land Use and Bio-energy, Electricity and CO2 Removal, and Gases, with 2015 as the base year and emissions projected to 2050 and 2100.

The KCERT 2050 tool is open-source and allows its users to address fundamental issues on climate change. It looks at future energy demands for Kenya and the impact at an individual, corporate, and government level. Built for Kenyans by Kenyans, the tool is a platform where decision-makers, policy makers, and administrators can co-design a locally based solution for climate and energy issues. The tool was developed under the patronage of the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and will be hosted and updated by the same team.

“In Kenya, the development of the tool was led by the government and anchored at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. This was a strategic move as the public sector has access to data that is credible, certified and verifiable,” said Peter Thobora, Assistant Director, Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy and Petroleum. “At the heart of the development of this tool were all key stakeholders in the public, private, and academic sector to ensure ownership of the tool,” he added.

KCERT 2050 will provide quantities of energy supply, demand, emissions, and potential implications for key sectors in Kenya on matters such as import dependence and land requirements. It will also offer a platform to facilitate policy debate about the possible future pathways for the Kenyan energy sector and enable policy interventions for deeper analysis. Further, it could help Kenya meet its updated National Determined Contribution (NDC) of 32% for greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

There are three different tools within KCERT 2050 for different categories of people. We have my2050, a simplified animation of the web tool and excel for the general public and students. The second tool is the web tool, a front end version of the Excel spreadsheet used by policy makers, stakeholders and well-informed individuals. The final tool is the detailed Microsoft Excel model targeted at technical experts.

During the webinar, Dr. Betsy Muriithi-Ochieng’ explained how the tool works. “The KCERT 2050 model is based on an Excel spreadsheet which feeds the more user-friendly web-based interface. This model captures all inputs and outputs, as well as the different calculations needed to measure energy supply and demand, and greenhouse gas emissions.” Excel, she added, is a simple, easy and accessible tool, making the learning curve for the majority not too steep.

After a glimpse on the journey of developing the KCERT 2050 tool, David Orr, Emerging Markets Trade and Investment Lead at Mott MacDonald and Programme Country Manager for Kenya reiterated the importance of exploring how the 2050 Carbon Calculator could be applied at the regional level. He told participants that decarbonization at the country level needs to be locally-led, transparent, and verifiable with a global focus.

The webinar was closed by Prof. Izael da Silva, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, Strathmore University, who credits the success of the 11-month development process to the government of Kenya. The collaboration among government, private sector, and academia was visible and the fruits can be seen.

 “This project, by its nature, continues to grow, create more interest and bear more fruit. We at Strathmore are considering including the KCERT 2050 tool as a unit in the Masters in Sustainable Energy Transition,” he added.

This project is led by Dr. John Olukuru, Head of Data Science, Strathmore University, and Patrick Mwanzia, Ag. Director, Strathmore Energy Research Centre. It is developed through the UK Government’s International 2050 Calculator programme, funded by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ, formerly BEIS) and implemented by Mott MacDonald, Imperial College London, Strathmore University, CLIMACT and Ricardo.

The author of this article is Anne Njeri Njoroge, Communications Officer, Strathmore Energy Research Centre.

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it. Contact us via communications@strathmore.edu

Kenya now has a scientific tool for calculating national carbon emissions up to the year 2100 – and the possible sustainability pathways. The Kenya Carbon Emission Reduction Tool (KCERT) allows for identifying and exploring various scenarios for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, including net zero by 2050. 

The scenarios are based on accounting for how energy is produced, converted, and consumed showing the extent to which energy technology, behaviour and land-use change might impact the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.

The tool, developed by Strathmore University in consultation with diverse stakeholders, will be hosted by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum for use by government officials, policymakers, and other stakeholders. It is publicly available and open-source, allowing anyone to explore decarbonisation pathways.

Strathmore Energy Research Centre (SERC) quality engineer, Thomas Bundi, says interested parties can interact with the web tool through the Ministry of Energy portal and download the detailed Excel tool.

SERC is finalising the training of Ministry officials this month. This will pave the way for the Ministry of Energy to host KCERT on its web site.

KCERT is funded by the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Strathmore University is the implementing institution, with additional support provided by the global engineering firm Mott MacDonald and Imperial College London.

KCERT uses scenario analysis, supported by expert stakeholder engagement activities to forecast and quantify carbon emissions.

SERC consulted hundreds of experts. It held workshops and meetings during the year-long development phase.

Mr Bundi says KCERT was adapted to the local context following the general model structure of the MacKay Carbon Calculator developed by the UK Government to calculate UK carbon emissions and future carbon pathways. Over 60 countries have a Calculator; Kenya’s is the first in East Africa.

KCERT is built in Kenya by Kenyans for Kenya. Kenyan-specific data on energy demand and supply, and social and economic indicators based on extensive literature review were included in conjunction with expert consultation.  

The tool covers five energy demand and supply sectors of the economy namely electricity generation, transport, industry, land use, and residential and commercial buildings.

The pathways for reducing emissions are based on a set of parameters or variables called “levers,” which constitute the backbone of KCERT. The levers represent different effort levels or trajectories towards sectoral decarbonisation.

The tool depicts the emission reduction scenarios, based on the country’s ambition. The least attractive scenario is where the country maintains the business-as-usual stance. Other options denote different levels of ambition, including the highest, 4, which promises rapid emission cuts in the run up to 2050, when the country hopes to have become a net zero economy. 

The tool is currently available at https://kcert.ilabafrica.ac.ke/ 

This article was first published in the Sunday Nation under the Climate Action series on 27th August 2023 by eongwae@ke.nationmedia.com

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it. Contact us via communications@strathmore.edu

Around 19 young energy professionals from East Africa participated in the 30th training edition of the RES4Africa Academy Technical and Vocational School (former MGA), supported by the knowledge partner Enel Foundation and carried out  in person for the first time since the end of the pandemic in Kenya, from the 10th to the 14th of July 2023. 

The lectures hosted at Strathmore University’s Energy Research Centre (SERC) provided trainees with first-hand capacity building on decentralised renewable energy solutions and a wide set of technical topics (i.e., renewable and non-renewable generation solutions, energy needs worldwide, RE potentials in Africa, solar energy radiation and resource characterisation for DRE design micro-grid architecture, energy procedures for productive uses in rural communities, etc.).

As a crucial part of the learning path, on the 13th of July, students had the opportunity to be involved in a field visit to Nairobi, Kenya. During the practical experiences conducted at St. Kizito VTI, the participants were able to benefit from hands-on demonstrations and exercises on system installation, commissioning, and decommissioning. The aim was to bridge the gap between theory and practise as well as deal with technical topics in line with this edition’s content for Module 1: Decentralised Energy Systems (DRE).

The activities were organised in collaboration with the RES4Africa Academy’s Technical and Vocational School Network: St. Kizito Vocational Training Institute, AVSI Foundation, and Enel Foundation, while the lectures were delivered by experts from Strathmore University, St. Kizito VTI, AVSI Foundation, The Companionships of Work Organisation CoWA, Enel Green Power, Enel Grids, and Sapienza University.

This article was first published on RES4Africa.

Wote town, Makueni county hosted the first energy champions training on 20th and 21st June, 2023 for thirty ward representatives. This training was a special request by H.E Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, Governor of Makueni, where he reiterated, in a previous meeting, the importance of having a bottom-up approach while developing the Makueni county energy plan.

The energy champions were selected from each ward to assist the county advocate for clean energy use and make energy transition understandable at the grass root level. During the two-day training, the champions had an opportunity to learn the linkages between climate change and the energy sector, the basic use and operation of solar technologies such as solar panels, solar cooling and solar water pumping, the importance of improved cookstoves, communication and active listening. The training included seminar style teaching, group discussions and role plays.

“The skills I have received from this training have propelled my desire to advocate further for clean cooking technologies. During my interaction with women in the community, I have found that they are directly affected by the fumes produced by firewood when preparing meals for their families. Consequently, using firewood daily makes them prone to lung infections. This training has equipped me on how I can best advocate for “Jiko Kisasa” –  a clean cooking stoves which I have been using since 2008” Salome Kilonzi, retailer of clean cook stoves and solar home systems at Membuten supplies, Mbitine Ward.

This training was timely for Makueni County stated Eng. Naomi Nthambi, Chief Officer, Energy. She noted that projects advocating for the use of clean cooking and energy have a nil or low uptake due to lack of community awareness. The newly trained energy champion’s will be our ambassadors to help penetrate the community and spread the good news of clean and safe energy. Collective action and behaviour change at the local and individual level will be driven by their influence and proactiveness within the community to advocate for clean energy. Furthermore, they will be the voice of the county in promoting clean energy, sharing information about new and ongoing projects, and assisting the county in overseeing these projects. 

The Makueni county energy plan is now sixty percent complete. “The team has now begun writing the various chapters of the county energy plan and analyzing productive uses of energy at the county level targeting projects that are utilizing energy for income generating activities.” affirmed Patrick Mwanzia, Ag. Director, Strathmore Energy Research Centre. “We are also identifying key projects that can be financed during the implementation of the county energy plan to help the community advance on electricity access, clean cooking, energy efficiency and conservation matters. He added.

In the month of July 2023, the team will conduct a carbon credits training in collaboration with the national treasury.

This project is funded by UKPACT in partnership with the Makueni County and World Resources Institute and is led by Patrick Mwanzia.

This article was written by Anne Njeri Njoroge, Communications Officer at Strathmore Energy Research Centre.