This archive report was first published on 18 September 2019.
Kenya has made significant strides in shifting from expensive sources of electricity, with a record Sh145 billion invested in renewable energy in 2018.
According to the 2019 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report, Kenya overtook several countries, including Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and Rwanda, to join the top six hotspots for green energy in the Middle East and Africa.
Kenya's green energy investments were split almost equally between geothermal, wind, and solar, with $486 million (Sh50.4 billion), $476 million (Sh49.4 billion), and $467 million (Sh48.5 billion) invested in each sector respectively.
The largest deals in the country were $366 million (Sh38 billion) for the 83 megawatt (MW) KenGen Olkaria I unit 6 geothermal plant and $333 million (Sh34.6 billion) for the 100MW Actis Kipeto wind farm.
Geothermal accounted for 44.6 percent of electricity generation mix at the end of December 2018, followed by hydro at 29.8 percent. Thermal, which was at 24.5 percent in December 2017, dropped to just 9.6 percent.
The increased investments have boosted Kenya's quest for cheap and clean energy, with wind power priced at Sh8 per kilowatt hours (kWh) compared to thermal at Sh15 per kWh.
The 300MW Turkana Wind Power farm and Garissa solar power plant joined the grid in 2018, relegating expensive thermal power to fourth position in Kenya's electricity sources.
Kenya also earned UNEP recognition for increased installation of small-scale solar systems, with the 500kW project at Moi International Airport in Mombasa hailed as a first at an African air travel hub.
