Power Africa drives off-grid power penetration in Kenya

Afrisol Energy chief executive Amos Nguru at the site of bio-latrine construction at Mukuru kwa Njenga in Nairobi. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA

What you need to know:

  • The Power Africa Challenge is open to six African countries that include: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia.
  • It seeks to drive growth in Africa by increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power and by helping to ensure responsible, transparent and effective management of energy resources on the continent.

The bio-digester power project at Kwa Njenga and the Indigo Pay as You Go (PAYG) home solar kits are some of the Power Africa Off-grid Energy Challenge projects, which are being sponsored by General Electric
(GE), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United States African Development Foundation (USADF).

President and CEO, GE Africa, Jay Ireland said, “…we are excited about the high caliber of entrants and the innovativeness in the solutions being presented to the Off Grid Energy Challenges in the respective
countries”.

The Power Africa Challenge is open to six African countries that include: Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Liberia.

Jay said this initiative is proof that with the right partnerships, Africans can develop home-grown solutions to the challenges they face.

The competition is part of the Power Africa initiative announced by President Barack Obama during his recent visit to Africa.

It seeks to drive growth in Africa by increasing access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power and by helping to ensure responsible, transparent and effective management of energy resources on the continent.

The grants have seen both Mibawa and Afrisol scale up their power distribution projects to widen access to off-grid green light solutions.

This has thus increased and improved access to power to populations in Kenya that were initially un-served or underserved. For instance, Afrisol Energy Ltd has repositioned itself to provide distributed power to schools and institutions that are off the grid and underserved populations in Kenya.

Mibawa has been able to deploy more solar kits to low-income households, widening access to affordable and green energy solutions.

Since 2011, GE Africa’s Sub-Saharan Headquarters has been located in Nairobi with over 110 employees out of its total 2,200 employees. GE provides a strong portfolio of solutions for Africa beyond power in sectors
such as healthcare, transportation and, oil and gas.

GE’s advanced technologies generate a quarter of Africa’s gas power. Its current investment in Africa includes increasing electric grid reliability during peak power demands in Kenya.

GE is supporting Kenya’s renewable energy goals by partnering in the development of 61 MW Kinangop Wind Farm Project. The Kinangop Wind Farm will be powered by 38 GE 1.6-megawatt (MW) wind
turbines which are best suited for Kenya’s wind conditions. GE will provide operations and maintenance for the wind farm through a 10 year full-service agreement (FSA). GE also will train local technicians and provide technical advisory support for connecting the wind farm to the grid.

GE, and Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile provider, have partnered to adopt the GE Durathon battery technology, one of the first batteries in the world designed specifically for Charge Discharge Cycling (CDC) telecomm operators. The Durathon batteries enable the Safaricom network to run efficiently during power outages.