KENYA
POWER AFRICA FACT SHEET
Power Africa has supported the development of electricity generation projects in Kenya. In addition, various firms have received U.S. Embassy support to move transactions forward. The page below shows Power Africa's involvement and lists Power Africa’s financially closed transactions in the country, some of which are already online and generating critical electricity supply for the people of Kenya.
POWER AFRICA SUCCESS STORIES IN KENYA
Power Africa Awards Grants to Increase Access to Solar-Powered Productive-Use Technologies in East Africa
Power Africa announced an investment of $250,000 in two renewable energy companies to increase access to productive use of energy technologies in East Africa.
Productive use of energy refers to the use of energy in ways that earn income or generate other benefits such as agricultural processing, irrigation, refrigeration, use of power tools, machines, or devices that increase productivity and improve people’s lives.
Through its Empower East and Central Africa program, Power Africa is awarding grants to Simusolar and SureChill to distribute solar-powered irrigation and refrigeration solutions to underserved regions in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda to boost productive use of energy.
Attracting Private Investment in East and Central Africa’s Energy Sector
Power Africa is driving private investment in energy generation to transform the energy landscape in East and Central Africa through strategic public-private partnerships.
By supporting innovative projects like Burundi’s first solar power plant, Mubuga Solar Plant, and Kenya's Menengai geothermal projects, we are helping to increase energy access, powering households, supporting small businesses, and promoting sustainable energy solutions.
Through these efforts, we are creating a brighter future for East and Central Africa, where reliable and sustainable energy is the cornerstone of thriving communities and economies.
A Clean Hydrogen Future Emerges in Kenya
Power Africa is assisting the Government of Kenya with its goal to unlock investment in green hydrogen to drive economic growth, agricultural development, and industrial progress. By providing critical market insights and fostering partnerships, Power Africa is supporting Kenya to capitalize on its abundant natural resources to achieve 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. Power Africa is assisting the Government and sustainable energy developers in the agriculture sector, a Kenya Vision 2030 priority economic sector, by exploring market opportunities to produce ammonia, a key ingredient in fertilizer, using green hydrogen. READ more on our blog
From Seeds to Self-Sufficiency: SunCulture’s Solar-Powered Revolution for Women in Agriculture
Rachael Rotich, a farmer in Kenya, manually pumped water from a borehole, filling buckets that could weigh as much as 45 pounds or more than 20 kilos. This exercise takes many hours every day, if not the entire day. But recently, Rachel ditched manual irrigation for SunCulture's solar-powered pump. With this innovation, she spends less time hauling water and more time expanding her crop production.
Thanks to USAID, our Power Africa private sector partner, Factor[e] Ventures, Arizona State University, and the United States Energy Association empowering companies like SunCulture, irrigation is getting easier and equal water access is improving. READ more on our blog
Power Africa Awards Four Grants to Promote Productive Uses of Energy to Empower Kenyan Women
Power Africa, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has awarded $400,000 in grants to four companies operating in Kenya. The grantees — three suppliers of agricultural and off-grid solar products and a microfinance institution — will use these funds to introduce new products and services that will enable more Kenyan women to use clean energy to increase their incomes, electrify their businesses, and improve farming yields. READ more on our blog
Powering the Future: Kenya Makes Strides in Regional Energy Leadership
Mwangi Kirubi
Power Africa is expanding affordable and reliable electricity services in Kenya to support inclusive economic growth, security, and improved health and education. In Kenya, Power Africa works to optimize power supply, increase grid-based power connections, and strengthen utilities and other energy sector entities. READ more on our blog
Engaging Kenyan Communities in Energy Development
GDC
Energy infrastructure development is about more than megawatts; it enables better health care, education, economic growth, and other sustainable development outcomes. Power Africa is leading an approach that puts communities at the center of energy infrastructure development by directly engaging the people whose lands and livelihoods are impacted by it. As a result, energy companies and developers in Kenya are proactively assessing community needs, developing relationships based on transparency and trust, and reshaping how energy infrastructure impacts their customers. READ more on our blog
Celebrating Clean Power in Kenya: The Kipeto Wind Farm
Kipeto Energy PLC/Mwangi Kirubi
Alongside USAID Kenya and partners such as Actis, African Trade Insurance Agency, and BTE Renewables (formerly BioTherm Energy), Power Africa supported the Kipeto Wind Farm in Kenya. Comprising of 60 wind turbines supplied by Power Africa partner General Electric, Kipeto will generate 100 megawatts (MW) of clean electricity to power approximately 250,000 Kenyan households. The Kipeto Wind Farm’s journey from concept to LightsOn demonstrates the breadth of Power Africa support, and showcases the incredible achievements made possible through public-private partnership. READ more on our blog
Promoting Cleaner, More Reliable Lighting and Cooking Systems Improves Lives for Women in Kenya
Through a Power Africa grant, LivelyHoods—a non-profit enterprise working in informal settlements in Kenya—could alleviate energy poverty and women’s unemployment from two angles.
First, LivelyHoods partnered with the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics to design a credit program for renewable energy products that was clear, accessible, and convenient to lower-income households. Second, LivelyHoods trained and employed women to offer these products on credit in their communities.
READ about the benefits unlocked by this grant on our blog
Delivering Cleaner, “Smarter” Cooking Systems to Underserved Communities in Kenya
Developing COVID-19 Return-To-Work Strategies
Ngaga Ireri
Power Africa helped KenGen create an official COVID-19 return-to-work strategy for the utility’s more than 2,500 employees. READ more on our blog.
Strengthening utility operational efficiency through data analytics
Kenya Power
Mwangi Chege, electrical engineer, describes how Kenya Power is using data analytics to improve performance, and shares his experience working with the Power Africa team.
POWER AFRICA FINANCIALLY CLOSED TRANSACTIONS IN KENYA
Updated: October 21, 2019
Cummins Baringo (Biomass – 8.4MW)
Financial Close Date: 03/31/2014
Commercial Operations Date: TBD
Estimated Project Cost: $30M
Overview: Power Africa supported Cummins Cogeneration Limited (CCL) to move the Baringo project forward with US Government assistance provided through the U.S. Africa Clean Energy Finance Initiative (ACEF), a collaboration between Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and the U.S. Department of State. CCL and co-developer Gentec Energy estimates the plant will employ 2,500 locals, many of them women, and that it will operate for 20 years. An invasive weed known as methenge is a menace to residents of Baringo County, suppressing other forms of vegetation and greatly reducing grazing areas for livestock. The project seeks to turn this weed into biomass-based power generation and create positive socio-economic impacts in the community.
Garden City Mall Solar System (Solar Micro-Grid - .86MW)
Financial Close Date: 06/01/2016
Commercial Operations Date: TBD
Estimated Project Cost: $1.9M
Overview: The 858-kilowatt Garden City Mall Solar System is integrated into a rooftop carpark of a 33,000 square meter mall, providing clean energy to the mall and surrounding mixed-use buildings. It is one of the largest rooftop solar projects in East Africa. The United States Government provided funding through USAID’s Global Development Alliance Investment Fund. The Crossboundary Investment Fund financed construction and pays for ongoing maintenance in exchange for a long-term commitment from businesses purchasing the power. In addition to powering the mall, the installation will offset around 18,750 tons of carbon over the lifetime of the system.
KenGen Olkaria V (Geothermal – 158MW)
Financial Close Date: 1/12/2017
Commercial Operations Date: 5/31/2019
Estimated Project Cost: $490M
Overview: In 2016, Power Africa and Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) concluded a Cooperation Framework, which established a strategic partnership towards advancing Kenya’s energy goals. To this Cooperation Framework, Power Africa assisted KenGen in optimizing reservoir productivity across the entire Olkaria field. To help finance this deal, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a Power Africa Partner, signed a loan agreement with the Government of the Republic of Kenya.
Kipeto (Wind – 100MW)
Financial Close Date: 12/18/2018
Commercial Operations Date: 04/09/2020
Estimated Project Cost: $320M
Overview: The energy generated from Kipeto, the second largest wind farm in Kenya, will be sold exclusively to the national offtaker under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project is funded by equity from Actis and a Kenyan company, Craftskills Wind Energy International, alongside $233 million in debt financing from Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the US Government’s development finance institution. Overseas Private Investment Corporation has also committed $50 million in re-insurance while the African Trade Insurance Agency is providing a standalone guarantee. A U.S. company will provide the 60 wind turbines required for the project, which also consists of underground cables to a substation, and a 220 kV overhead transmission line. Power Africa conducted a Biodiversity Action Plan to mitigate possible impacts of wind turbines on endangered raptors at the site. Power Africa’s partner, Actis, undertook extensive community engagement efforts including the development of a Community Development Framework and the creation of a Community Trust. As one of the first wind Independent Power Producers in Kenya, Kipeto paves the way for future private investment in Kenya’s nascent wind energy sector.
Lake Turkana (Wind – 310MW)
Financial Close Date: 12/17/2014
Commercial Operations Date: 9/29/2017
Estimated Project Cost: $1,095M
Overview: Lake Turkana Wind Power Project will provide up to 310 MW of wind power to the Kenya national grid and is one of the biggest investments ever made in Kenya. Power Africa partner Aldwych co-developed the project with other private sector actors. Power Africa has supported this project through multiple agencies: USAID is creating an enabling environment for renewable power in Kenya by supporting a Grid Management program to help Kenya with grid management of intermittent renewables; Power Africa partners Standard Bank of South Africa, the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Nedbank committed financing and insurance; and US Treasury Department also supported the African Development Bank Project Risk Guarantee for the associated transmission line.
Malindi Solar (Solar - 40MW)
Financial Close Date: 05/31/2019
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