This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Published on September 18, 2019, a report by the United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) revealed that Kenya had attracted a record $1.4 billion (Sh145 billion) in investments for renewable energy in 2018.
This marked a significant shift from expensive sources of electricity, with Kenya overtaking Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Rwanda to join the top six hotspots for green energy.
According to the Unep report, the investments were split almost equally between geothermal ($486 million, Sh50.4 billion), wind ($476 million, Sh49.4 billion), and solar ($467 million, Sh48.5 billion) energy sources.
Kenya trailed behind South Africa and Morocco, which attracted $4.1 billion (Sh426 billion) and $3.1 billion (Sh322 billion) respectively.
The largest deals in the country included the $366 million (Sh38 billion) for the 83 megawatt (MW) KenGen Olkaria I unit 6 geothermal plant and the $333 million (Sh34.6 billion) for the 100MW Actis Kipeto wind farm.
Geothermal accounted for 44.6% of the electricity generation mix at the end of December 2018, followed by hydro at 29.8%. Thermal power, which was at 24.5% in December 2017, dropped to just 9.6%.
The increased investments boosted Kenya's quest for affordable clean energy, with wind power priced at Sh8 per kilowatt hour (Kwh) compared to thermal at Sh15 per Kwh.
The 300MW Turkana Wind Power farm and Garissa solar power plant joined the grid last year, relegating expensive thermal power to fourth position in Kenya's electricity sources.
