A geothermal power plant in Naivasha. FILE PHOTO | NMG Kenya has been ranked fifth globally in an annual Bloomberg index measuring investments and opportunities in clean energy, underlining the country’s position as the centre of renewable energy in Africa.
The BloombergNEF (BNEF) latest Climatescope report says that Kenya’s rise for the first time in the global top five has been backed by the higher contribution of solar, wind and geothermal capacity into the energy mix.
These three now account for up to 65 percent of the country’s energy sources.
Kenya, which had Sh140 billion investments in clean energy sources in 2018, ranked the best in Africa and together with Morocco made it to the top 10 list, beating many others from the developed world, including Europe where most of the clean energy investments are sourced.
“Kenya appears for the first time in the Climatescope top five. The country is gradually increasing its share of non-large hydro renewables by adding solar, wind and geothermal,” says the Bloomberg report.
“In 2018, Kenya recorded its highest ever clean energy investment with $1.4 billion (Sh140 billion). Kenya also accounted for over a third of all 2018 foreign investment into Sub-Saharan Africa.”
The Climatescope 2019 index methodology includes 167 indicators and sub-indicators split into three key topic areas that encompass each country’s previous accomplishments, its current investment environment, and the future opportunities it presents.
Kenya scored 2.52 on the index, behind India (2.93), Chile (2.85), Brazil (2.76) and China (2.59).
The country was praised for its extensive renewable energy value chain as the country boots its contribution of clean energy, which is also cheaper to produce compared to thermal energy.