KENYA: Rising fuel prices, drought, falling water levels -- clean wind energy is one way to go, says Kenya's power generator

Record ID: 362071

  • Title: KENYA: Rising fuel prices, drought, falling water levels -- clean wind energy is one way to go, says Kenya's power generator
  • Date: 24th July 2009
  • Summary: NGONG, KENYA (JULY 17, 2009) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF WIND TURBINES AT POWER STATION ON NGONG HILLS/ COWS GRAZING BY THE TURBINES VARIOUS OF TURBINES CLOSE-UP OF TURBINE, LOGO READING "KENGEN" MORE OF TURBINES NAIROBI, KENYA (JULY 17, 2009) (REUTERS) ALBERT MUGO, KENYA ELECTRICITY GENERATING COMPANY (KENGEN) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY DIRECTOR TALKING TO JOURN
  • Embargoed: 8th August 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA4DLWCT940J79JYVE2QB9830RS
  • Story Text: At the top of the Ngong hills in Kenya's Rift Valley province, grazing cattle from the indigenous pastoral communities are learning to share space with wind turbines that will increase the country's power generation.
    Kenya's biggest power producer KenGen is harnessing energy in windy sites like this one to improve generation of power and decrease reliance on energy that harms the environment.
    The government plans 500 MW from geothermal, 600 MW of clean coal, 800 MW from wind turbines, 30-50 MW generated as a bi-product of sugar manufacture and 30 MW from hydroelectricity.
    KenGen has just begun setting up some wind turbines and a private company plans a 300 MW wind farm in Kenya's northeastern region by 2012.
    Rising global fuel prices are pushing power companies towards fully environmentally-friendly energy sources even faster.
    "The fuel prices have been very erratic and in the last one year internationally the crude oil prices have gone even to beyond 140 dollars per barrel and that is expensive for the economy, so we would want green energy that is not affected by the fragility or volatility in the international fuel market," said Albert Mugo, business development and strategy director at the country's biggest power producer.
    The country's current installed capacity is 1,296 MW of which KenGen generates 77 percent mainly through hydroelectric dams, and another 12 percent is generated through geothermal power.
    Kenya plans to add 2,000 megawatts of environmentally-friendly energy by 2013 investing $7-$8 billion, according to KenGen.
    A mix of private investment, government and development agency funding would provide the money for the ambitious project.
    "Currently, we have two turbines in Ngong that generate about 400 kilowatt, in the next two weeks we expect to add another six turbines that generate 5.1 megawatt giving a total of eight turbines generating 5.5 megawatt, the cost of the new turbines is 10 million Euro," he said adding that the project will be supported by the Belgian and Spanish governments.
    KenGen contributes 1,005 MW to Kenya, 73 percent is by hydrodams, 11 percent geothermal and 0.5 percent wind. The rest is from generators running on expensive diesel and gas.
    Eighteen percent of Kenyans are connected to electricity but KenGen projects this to grow to 20 percent by next year. Demand will be about 2,500 MW in 2013, when the extra 2,000 MW clean power is supposed to be onboard, Mugo said.
    "In the projections for the power demand, this has already been taken into account... the fact that there is a rapid expansion of power to the rural areas and also what KPLC are doing in connecting 200,000 customers per year, is what we expect to have a rapid increase in demand and therefore the capacity that is required to supply this demand," said Mugo.
    Nairobi is also exploring and studying the feasibility of coal production. A 600 MW clean coal power station at the port city of Mombasa would initially run on imported coal, he said.
    Mugo said that tenders for the coal plant should be in by September and it would take about three years for the power to be on stream.
    "We want to take care of the environment, because we understand that using the fossil fuels pollutes the environment in terms of the gases it emits and it affects the climate. So want to turn to clean energy because it is environmentally friendly and it is the way really to go so that we can have clean energy that the people can use and that would help in the development of this country," said Mugo.
    A prolonged drought in many parts of the country has hit hydropower generation, prompting KenGen to shut one 14 megawatts unit in the eastern region.
    However, news that the country may receive too much rain in an el Nino-like phenomenon may be good news for KenGen.
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