Featured image: Stock The 2019 edition of the Future Energy East Africa conference and exhibition in Nairobi presented an interesting development that sets this year apart from previous years in that attendees are no longer talking about energy in isolation.
This article first appeared in ESI Africa Issue 5-2019 .
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The conference’s keynote addressed was graced by the Permanent Secretary for Ministry of Energy Kenya, Dr Engineer Joseph Njoroge, who remarked that reliable energy is a critical enabler to achieving Kenya’s economic vision by 2030.
The country’s Big Four Agenda is based on the Vision 2030 initiative, which targets universal health care, affordable housing, enhancing manufacturing and food security. All these require energy to prosper in a sustainable way, Njoroge pointed out. Kenya’s electrification efforts currently stand at 74%, and the country is assured of achieving 100% electrification rates by 2022.
The country is also set to undertake aggressive measures in the supply of gas (for cooking purposes) with contribution from biomass resources. “The government has placed favourable policies to ensure universal access to electricity by 2022. Kenya is on the path of an inclusive energy mix, and will include nuclear alongside solar, wind and hydro. Kenya is targeting to generate 20,000MW to meet energy demand, even as it transitions to become a middle-income economy,” said Dr Njoroge.
The event was also graced by Patrick Obath, chairman of the board of Standard Chartered Bank. He stressed the need to unlock energy investments. “By 2040, roughly $80 billion will be needed to reach universal access to energy; this will have to come from the public sector,” said Obath.
The strength of hydropower
Regional case studies on hydropower potential in Africa were covered during the two-day conference. The private sector was encouraged to invest in hydropower, more specifically small hydro, which is quite efficient when the main grid is unstable. Small hydro, which includes so-called mini- and micro-hydro projects on small rivers and creeks, is most often defined as dams with a capacity up to 10MW, although some countries define it as including dams of as much as 25-30MW.
Small hydro dams are often built as run-of-river projects, meaning the flow of the river powers the turbines in the dam to produce electricity without the need to create a reservoir. This can provide cheap, offgrid power, allowing rural areas access […]
