This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
On September 25, 2019, Kenya took a significant step towards reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and promoting clean energy with the launch of a Sh15.3 billion solar energy project in Eldoret.
The project, which is being financed by the European Investment Bank and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, involves the construction and operation of two new solar photovoltaic plants near Eldoret.
Each of the two plants, Radiant and Eldosol, will use 150,000 solar panels that track to harness the maximum amount of solar energy and will be connected to the national grid.
The European Investment Bank and FMO will each provide Sh5.5 billion (USD 53 million) for the two projects, with the remainder of the Sh15.3 billion (USD 147 million) total project cost provided by the project promoters Frontier Energy, David Langat, Chairman of the DL Group of Companies, and Ayaz Merali, Managing Director of Paramount Bank.
The new Radiant and Eldosol projects are amongst the first to generate utility-scale solar power in East Africa, diversifying Kenya's electricity supply away from rain-dependent hydro and fossil fuels, contributing to improving grid stability in Western Kenya, and catering for expected increased energy use in the coming years.
Kenya's national electrification strategy aims to expand access to electricity to all citizens by 2022, and this project is a significant step towards achieving this goal.
European Union Ambassador Simon Mordue said,
