May 2021

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has approved Strathmore University’s proposal to set up a UNESCO Chair for Climate Change Resilience and Sustainability. Slated to last five renewable years, the chair will encompass the disciplines of climate change adaptation and mitigation, access to electricity, energy efficiency, education of youth and women, and public policy.

Future of our planet

The project will be led by Professor Izael Pereira Da Silva, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Strathmore University. Prof Da Silva’s main research focus is sustainable development and energy. Having worked in this field for many years now, he believes climate change should be of paramount importance for all who are concerned with the future of the planet.

Speaking following the approval, Dr. Evangeline Njoka, the Secretary General of the Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, said, “Climate change is an emerging issue that manifests itself in ways that affect sustainable development. It not only threatens the survival of mankind, economies, and the environment, but also compromises the ability of most countries and the global community to achieve developmental targets.”

Prof Ramasamy Jayakumar, Head of the Natural Sciences Sector at the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, also congratulated the university. “This is a very important milestone for Africa,” he said. “It focuses on three important interlinked Sustainable Development Goals, namely Zero Hunger, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Affordable and Clean Energy.” To achieve the overall goal of climate sustainability, he explained, it is necessary for these three sectors to be concurrently developed.

Weather the climate change storm

Through the new UNESCO chair, Prof Da Silva plans to collaborate with the government, development agencies, the private sector, and academia, to develop and disseminate transformative ideas and innovations within its subject areas. Through this work, the project will help societies weather and thrive through the negative effects of climate change.

The project places a special emphasis on Africa, which, though a minor contributor to global climate change, stands to suffer some of its worst effects, such as prolonged droughts and erratic floods. This imbalance calls for concerted scholarly efforts to develop strategies to mitigate these effects. Beyond clarifying and implementing existing climate-related policies, more must be done to curb the dangers of climate change while promoting resilience.

Through the project, Prof Da Silva also hopes to improve the understanding of ordinary people regarding climate change. Above all, he aims to inspire young people to take on the challenge of steering the future of the planet for the benefit of everyone. “I plan to train the next generation so that they can take care of our common home better than the current generation,” he says.

The UNESCO/ UNITWIN (University Twinning and Networking) Chairs Programme was launched in 1992 to promote international inter-university cooperation and networking to enhance institutional capacities, through knowledge sharing and collaborative work. Currently, eight universities in Kenya have UNESCO Chairs.

This article was written by Namachanja Ashley Nasambu, a third year Bachelor of Arts in Communication student.

In 2015, the Government of Kenya launched an ambitious plan to add 5,000 MW of electricity generation capacity to the grid in 40 months with the aim of improving availability of supply and thereby support economic growth. The excess electricity generation capacity was to supply flagship projects such as the electrification of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), a steel plant and Lamu port. The implementation of these projects was to lead to the industrialization of the country and transform Kenya into a middle-income economy by 2030.

However, in 2017, media reports indicated that the government had abandoned this plan because electricity demand did not grow at the anticipated rate. Despite indications that the 5,000 MW plan had been abandoned, plans to construct a 1000 MW coal power plant in Lamu remained. In 2017, Amu Power, an Independent Power Producer, signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with Kenya Power, allowing it to supply electricity generated from coal to the Kenyan grid pending an environmental impact assessment  license and partial risk guarantees to be awarded by the government to lenders in the project.

Public discourse has brought to the fore numerous arguments for coal with some parties indicating that additional capacity from coal would drive industrialization, as has been witnessed in many developed countries such as the US, Germany and China in the past. This article analyses this position with the aim of determining whether additional supply from coal will actually improve industrial performance.

Excess electricity generated

Electricity is indeed a requirement for socio-economic development and industrialization. However, Kenya currently has excess electricity generation capacity and therefore does not need supply.   In 2017, in the Daily Nation, Cabinet Secretary for Energy Charles Keter indicated that the government was slowing down the implementation of the 5000 MW plan because of insufficient demand due to the counties’ failure to invest in mega-industries, which would serve to drive electricity demand. One can infer from this statement that the country has excess electricity capacity.  Further, another article published in the Daily Nation indicated that Kenya Power had indefinitely halted the signing of new power purchase agreements because of excess capacity.

In fact, Kenyans have been paying for unutilized supply for the past five years. An analysis of data in Kenya Power’s annual reports indicates that the reserve margin (the difference between peak demand and installed generation capacity) has ranged from 22% to 45% between 2014 and 2018. In many nations, the recommended reserve margin is 15% or even less, to allow for demand growth and maintenance of power plants. According to the government, installation of further electricity capacity at the present rate would only increase excess capacity and thereby the cost of electricity.

Additional electricity capacity has not served to improve the performance of the manufacturing sector. Despite the existence of excess electricity generation capacity, the Economic Survey 2019 shows that the contribution of the manufacturing sector to the gross domestic product has declined from 10% in 2014 to 7.7% in 2018. These statistics indicate that electricity capacity in Kenya is not the impediment towards productivity as commonly touted. Rather, the manufacturing sector has repeatedly indicated that high cost of electricity sometimes up to 40% of the cost of production, and unreliable supply caused by poor transmission and distribution network has hindered its growth. [2] [3].

Contribution to excess capacity

Addition of a coal plant to Kenya’s electricity generation mix will cause an increase of Kenya’s electricity cost by contributing to excess capacity. The Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) 2017-2037, an electricity generation plan prepared by the government, indicates that a coal power plant, if constructed, would be utilized at a maximum capacity factor of 4.1% between 2024 and 2036, leading the levelized cost of electricity to peak at approximately KES 16 per kWh in 2024. The LCPDP also analyses an additional scenario, where the addition of coal power to Kenya’s electricity generation mix is delayed to 2029. In this scenario, the cost of electricity is KES 12.3 per kWh indicating that coal is not the best solution for Kenya’s electricity generation mix in the earlier periods.

The government should instead direct efforts to improve the transmission and distribution network, in order to increase the reliability of supply, enable a reduction in suppressed demand, and assist in the overall growth of consumption. This is a low-hanging fruit for a country that has its focus on increasing electricity demand. Affordability of electricity also needs to be a priority to enable domestic consumers enjoy the benefits of universal connectivity and allow the manufacturing sector to reduce production costs, therefore reaching the desired growth and competitiveness of the sector.

This article was written by Ms. Sarah Odera, Ag. Director, Strathmore Energy Research Centre and Prof. Izael Da Silva, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation. You can contact us at serc@strathmore.edu.

The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) and Strathmore University have today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding that will see the two institutions partner in training and sharing knowledge on water and energy- related subjects.

Training equipment and tools

This partnership will see Strathmore University offer physical space and technical learning capacities to ICRC’s team of engineers, staff, and other humanitarian partners, particularly in the field of renewable energy to enable sustainable power and water supply. The ICRC will in turn equip the University’s laboratories with customized training equipment and tools to the tune of 100,000 USD to be used by students taking these courses. The partnership comes in recognition of Strathmore’s knowledge and expertise in this field under its School of Computing and Engineering Sciences and its already well-established Energy Research Center. The new collaboration is intended to strengthen ICRC’s years of working to secure better living conditions, delivery of health services and livelihood initiatives, which include providing access to essential services as water and power supply for thousands of people affected by conflict around the world.

Increase access to energy and water

ICRC’s Head of Regional Delegation Olivier Dubois noted that, “the number of energy projects implemented as part of our operational responses has increased tremendously over the years and is expected to further accelerate in the context of global transition to renewable energy resources. Our team of specialists, specifically the Water and Habitat engineers, will benefit from this partnership which will see them consolidate their competence in this area as we seek to increase the use of renewable sources of energy in our operations and in our premises,” he said.

Prof. Izael Da Silva, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research and Innovation at Strathmore University added, “this training program will contribute to global efforts in increasing access to modern energy and water. Conflict areas have previously been neglected in such initiatives. Strathmore University is therefore delighted to partner with ICRC in this endeavour”.

By establishing the Energy and Water Knowledge Hub with Strathmore University, ICRC will create training services for ICRC staff and operational partners from all over Africa and beyond.  The developed courses will also be made available on the market to other individuals and humanitarian agencies in need to scale up their technical competencies in this field.

The article was written by Ms. Anne Njeri, the Communications Officer at Strathmore Energy Research Centre.

You can contact us at serc@strathmore.edu.