WSHPDR_2013_Final_Report-updated_version

1.1.3 Kenya
Patrick Thaddayos Balla, Global Village Energy
Partnership International, Kenya
Key facts
Population 43,013,341 1
Area 580 367 km 2
Climate Varies from tropical along coast to arid
in interior 1
Topography Low plains rise to central highlands
bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile
plateau in west 1
Rain
Pattern
Two rainy seasons: March to May and
October to early December.
Electricity sector overview
Electricity access in Kenya is estimated at 28.9 per cent. i
Access in the Nairobi province is reported to be 53.47
per cent and in Central provinces 42.4 per cent. 2 These
are the top two provinces in terms of electricity access.
The provinces with lowest access to electricity are North
Eastern province at 14 per cent and Western province at
14.7 per cent. 2 According to the National Information
and Communication Technology Survey 2010, the grid is
the main source of electricity with 25 per cent of
households connected to it, while 15.3 per cent of the
homes were connected to other types of electricity
sources. Only 13 per cent of rural households are
connected to the grid, compared to a 58-per cent of
urban households that had their premises connected to
the grid. A wide disparity was observed between urban
and rural households not connected to any form of
electricity. 3
Electricity generation in Kenya is liberalized with
hydropower dominating the electricity mix (figure 1).
The combined installed capacity was 1,533 MW as of
December 2011, with an estimation of 76 per cent by
main power generating company, six independent
power producers (IPPs) account for the balance. 4
Wind 0.2%
Imported electricity 0.4%
Cogeneration (bagasse) 1.2%
Geothermal
19.9%
Fossil fuels
31.4%
Hydropower
46.9%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Figure 1 Electricity generation in Kenya
Source: Kenya Ministry of Energy 4
Small hydropower sector overview and potential
Small hydropower technology has been harnessed for
over a century in Kenya, mainly for grinding food grains
and in a few cases for electricity. Until recently, there
have been a few small-scale hydropower schemes
mainly owned by missionaries and tea plantations, but
the developers did not link this sector to local technical
capacity development. Several small hydropower
schemes are in operation by private entrepreneurs and
communities for local consumption.
Interest in the development of small hydropower in
Kenya has revived in the last 12 years, partly due to the
inadequacies in the grid-based power supply, the
technological push and increased awareness on the role
of small hydropower in the country’s electricity mix. 5 A
number of projects have been planned or constructed
by communities and the private sector in this period.
Since 2006, a new wave of small hydropower projects
had been planned and commissioned, mostly by private
tea companies (Unilever and James Finlay Tea) and
Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA). Other private
sector players and community NGOs are implementing a
number of projects. With the introduction of the feed-in
tariff (FIT) policy in 2008, small-scale candidate sites are
likely to come up and serve well for the electricity
supply of villages, small businesses or farms.
Table 1
Small hydropower schemes in Kenya
Scheme Ownership Location
(River)
Installed
capacity
(MW)
Year
Tana 1 & 2 KenGen Upper Tana 4.0000 1952
Tana 3 KenGen Upper Tana 2.4000 1952
Tana 4 KenGen Upper Tana 4.0000 1954
Tana 5 KenGen Upper Tana 2.4000 1955
Tana 6 KenGen Upper Tana 2.0000 1956
Ndula KenGen Thika River 2.0000 1924
Wanjii KenGen Maragua 7.4000 1955
Gogo KenGen Migori 2.0000 1952
Sagana KenGen Upper Tana 1.5000 1952
Mesco KenGen Maragua 0.3800 1919
Sosiani KenGen Sosiani 0.4000 1955
Tenwek Tenwek
Bomet 0.3200 1987
Missionary
Hospital
Unilever Unilever Tea Kericho 2.2000 -
Company
James
Finlay
James Finlay
Tea Company
Kericho 2.4000 1934-
1999
Savani Eastern
0.0950 1927
Produce
Imenti Tea KTDA Imenti river 0.9000 2009
Factory
Diguna Missionary - 0.4000 1997
Tungu Community River Tungu 0.0140 2000
Kabiru
Mujwa Missionary 0.0070 -
Thima Community Mukengeria 0.0020 2001
Kathamba Community Kathamba 0.0012 2001
Source: Republic of Kenya 6 , Balla 5
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