This archive report was first published on 11 November 2019.
Kenya's transition to 100% green energy by 2020 presents an opportunity to bring down the cost of electricity, especially in rural areas. However, counties must take advantage of this opportunity by building institutional capacity to develop sustainable renewable energy plans.
The Energy Act, 2019, gives counties a critical role in preserving universal access to electricity, informing county energy plans, and synthesizing the development and review of national energy plans. This demonstrates a shift in energy delivery responsibility from the national to county governments.
Counties must resonate and align their plans with the national renewable energy plan, taking into account their unique energy features. This will have substantial benefits, including increased households' access to clean and affordable energy, improved county economics, greater business competitiveness, and concrete environmental benefits.
According to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido), counties are obliged to promote and initiate exploration of renewable energy in line with the national strategy set out in the Least Cost Power Development Plan. Kenya is among developing countries that have made significant strides in electricity reforms.
It is imperative that counties develop a dedicated full-time renewable energy department with specialised staff and budget lines to avoid rushing against time. This will enable them to champion off-grid and microgrid power projects, in line with Kenya Vision 2030, which seeks to steer the country towards becoming a competitive middle-income industrialised economy.
