The Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum with the support from the World Bank launched a $150 million solar project in September that will enable a majority of the residents in the arid and semi-arid regions in the country to have access to electricity. The five-year Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP) is designed to scale-up electrification in households, market centers, schools, community facilities and enterprises in the furthest corners of Kenya which lack grid networks.
Energy Principal Secretary Engineer Joseph Njoroge said the project will benefit 14 counties which include Turkana, Marsabit, Samburu, Isiolo, Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Lamu, Kilifi, Kwale, TaitaTaveta and Narok.
“This project is expected to contribute towards Kenya’s Vision 2030 which aims to transform the country into a newly industrializing and provide a high quality of life to all its citizens,” said Njoroge when he launched the project.
According to statistics at the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum, over 70% of the country has been connected to electricity and the Ministry targets to achieve universal access in the next three years; KOSAP will support the Ministry to achieve 1.17 million new connectionsin the first year of the project, followed by 1.75 and 2.28 million in the second and third year respectively, according to Njoroge. The vast majority of the new customers will be added through intensified connection activities where an estimated 690,000 new households will be equipped with solarhome systems in each year.
The KOSAP project consists of four components with the first component being mini-grids for community facilities, enterprises and households. The second component is the stand-alone solar systems and clean cooking solutions for households while the third component is thestand-alone solar systems and solar water pumps for community facilities. The fourth component is the implementation support and capacity building.
The World Bank Global Energy and Extractives Practice Manager for the Africa region, Ms. Sudeshna Banerjee praised Kenya’s committed to providing safe and reliable energy which will go a long way in improving the lives of its people. She said Kenya was one of the countries in Africa that were best prepared in this endeavor.