Lessons from Kenya about what’s holding back solar technology in Africa

 

The spread of solar and other modern energy technologies in African countries is considerably low. Despite the global viability and growth in the solar energy market, African countries continue to lag behind. They represent less than 1% of the market demand for solar energy.

 

The region accounts for only 9% of the global installed capacity of photo-voltaics (PV) which convert light into electricity using semi-conducting materials. The solar PV technology power generation rate rose from 1% in 2010 to just between 3% and 4% in 2013.

 

This is despite the fact that Africa has the best solar resource in the world. Most countries on the African continent receive between 4 – 6 kWh/m2/day in most months of the year. This means that in a day, a square metre of solar panel can generate 4 to 6 kilowatt units of electricity. In simple terms, it could power 400 – 600 10-watt light bulbs for one hour.

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Five things the new government should do to help Kenya meet its energy needs

 

Without energy there would be no electricity to support the economic, social or political growth of any country. But to make it a real enabler of growth, there needs to be enough of it and it must be clean, affordable and reliable.

 

Kenya faces challenges around availability, affordability and reliability. Kenya ranks quite well on some scores compared to other countries on the continent, but quite badly on others. On the bright side Kenya’s electricity generation is clean compared to a country like South Africa which relies heavily on coal. Kenya’s power mix is 85% plus renewable based as it relies mostly on hydro and geothermal.

 

But in terms of supply it doesn’t rank that well. If we divide the total installed capacity by the number of inhabitants, every Kenyan would have a meagre 50 Watts if we divided the total installed capacity between the country’s inhabitants. For their part, South African citizens would have 30 times more, or 1,500 Watts.

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Millions of urban Africans still don’t have electricity: here’s what can be done

 

At least 110 million of the 600 million people still living without access to electricity in Africa live in urban areas. Most are within a stone throw from existing power grid infrastructure.

 

In Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and Liberia alone there are up to 95 million people living in urban areas. All in close proximity to the grid. In Kenya about 70% of off-grid homes are located within 1.2km of a power line. And estimates for “under-the-grid” populations across sub-Saharan Africa range from 61% to 78%.

 

Besides energy access being crucial for many basic human needs, these underserved populations represent a massive commercial opportunity for cash-strapped sub-Saharan African utilities. Electricity providers could reach tens of millions of densely packed customers without the cost of a last-mile rural grid extension.

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PROVIDES A ROADMAP FOR ENERGY ACCESS IN “THE CONVERSATION”

 

Dr. Rebekah Shirley is Research Direc­tor at Power for All and Vis­it­ing Research Scholar, at the Strath­more Energy Research Cen­ter (SERC) at Strath­more Uni­ver­sity and both alumni and Post-​​doctoral Fel­low at RAEL.

 

At least 110 mil­lion of the 600 mil­lion peo­ple still liv­ing with­out access to elec­tric­ity in Africa live in urban areas. Most are within a stone throw from exist­ing power grid infrastructure.

 

In Nige­ria, Tan­za­nia, Ghana and Liberia alone there are up to 95 mil­lion peo­ple liv­ing in urban areas. All in close prox­im­ity to the grid. In Kenya about 70% of off-​​grid homes are located within 1.2km of a power line. And esti­mates for “under-​​the-​​grid” pop­u­la­tions across sub-​​Saharan Africa range from 61% to 78%.

 

Besides energy access being cru­cial for many basic human needs, these under­served pop­u­la­tions rep­re­sent a mas­sive com­mer­cial oppor­tu­nity for cash-​​strapped sub-​​Saharan African util­i­ties. Elec­tric­ity providers could reach tens of mil­lions of densely packed cus­tomers with­out the cost of a last-​​mile rural grid extension.

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Business Training Manual for Improved Cookstoves Entrepreneurs under the Promotion of Climate -Friendly Cooking in Kenya Project


In 2016 the UN launched SDGs, a set of 17 measurable goals which together form a global call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. Kenya, as part of this global initiative, has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by developing the Kenyan Action Agenda, which plays a vital role in achieving clean cooking for all—a key objective of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7), aimed at ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030.

 

As part of the push towards universal access to clean cooking solutions by 2028, the ‘Promotion of Climate-Friendly Cooking in Kenya’ project, co-financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and Kenya’s Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (MoEP), aims to increase the uptake of improved cookstoves at the household level. This initiative employs a market transformation approach with the goal of transitioning Kenya’s improved cookstove value chain from its current artisanal/jua kali status to a more professional and sustainable model.

 

The GCF project is implementing an innovative market transformation strategy for Improved Cookstoves (ICS) in Kenya, while also enhancing global knowledge on the ICS sector’s contribution to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). This will significantly increase the number of ICS users in Kenya particularly in peri-urban and rural areas. The GCF project will significantly reduce the consumption of non-renewable biomass in the cooking sector compared to the baseline scenario, leading to substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

 

The stove testing team diligently examines the equipment essential for rigorous stove testing.

 

The project objective is to accelerate the growth of the ICS sector with an irreversible market transformation that will significantly increase the level of ICS production and sales, particularly in remote and rural locations, thereby enabling Kenya to significantly advance the achievement of the stated NDC goals.

 

The project aims to establish a self-sustaining Improved Cookstove (ICS) market in Kenya, resulting in significant climate change mitigation impacts, including direct GHG emission reductions of 5.3 million tons of CO2 equivalent over the project’s lifetime. The project will also enable 1.6 million households to adopt Improved Cookstoves (ICS), benefiting approximately 8 million people. The project is implemented by Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (MoEP), GIZ, Practical Action (PA), Mercy Corps (MC), Dedan Kimathi University of Technology (DeKUT), Strathmore University, Greenbelt Movement (GBM), Kenya Tea Development Agency Foundation (KTDA-F) and Clean Cooking Assiation of Kenya (CCAK).ociation of Kenya (CCAK).

 

The Business Training Manual for Improved Cookstoves Entrepreneurs was developed by Strathmore Energy Research Centre in consultation with the GCF implementing partners and ICS entrepreneurs as a toolkit to guide ICS, LMEs, end users and development partners in the establishment and management of a sustainable cook stove enterprise. The overall goal of the toolkit is to empower the entrepreneurs with the necessary skills to manage their businesses and to increase the number of SMEs engaging in profitable ICS businesses.

 

This will in due course increase the usage of ICS at the households and institutional levels. This BDS training manual (available at link) is composed of eight (8) separate modules which together combine to make a complete business skills kit for last mile entrepreneurs (LMS) and improved cook stove (ICS). SERC recommends that these modules are delivered accompanied with coaching and mentoring. The manual does not pretend to be exhaustive but contributes to vital resources for the development of the clean cooking sector.

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