Energy in Kenya
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This article describes
energy In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat a ...
and
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...
production, consumption, import and export in
Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
. Kenya's current effective installed (grid connected) electricity capacity is 2,651 megawatts (MW), with peak demand of 1,912 MW, as of November 2019. At that time, demand was rising at a calculated rate of 3.6 percent annually, given that peak demand was 1,770 MW, at the beginning of 2018. Electricity supply is mostly generated by
renewable sources A renewable resource, also known as a flow resource, is a natural resource which will replenish to replace the portion depleted by usage and consumption, either through natural reproduction or other recurring processes in a finite amount of ti ...
with the majority coming from
geothermal power Geothermal power is electrical power generated from geothermal energy. Technologies in use include dry steam power stations, flash steam power stations and binary cycle power stations. Geothermal electricity generation is currently used in 2 ...
and
hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other Renewabl ...
. Until recently the country lacked significant domestic reserves of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. The main fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gas. Fossil fuels m ...
. The country has over the years had to import substantial amounts of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
and natural gas. This might change with the discovery of oil reserves in Kenya, which relied on oil imports to meet about 42 percent of its energy needs in 2010. As of the end of June 2016, 55% of Kenyans were connected to the National grid, which is one of the highest connection rates in Sub-Saharan Africa. Per capita consumption in domestic households however, remains low.


Electricity


Sources of electricity


Renewable energy

Kenya is currently the largest producer of geothermal energy in Africa. It is one of two countries in Africa that produce geothermal energy, the other being Ethiopia. In 2010, geothermal energy accounted for almost 20 percent of Kenya's total electricity generation. The country has the potential to produce 10,000 megawatts of geothermal-powered electricity, according to Kenya's state-owned Geothermal Development Company. Total renewable energy capacity is at 60%, with most coming from hydropower. In July 2019, Kenya opened Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) which is the largest wind power plant in Africa. This project is part of the country's ambitious plan of reaching 100% green energy by 2020.


Hydroelectric power


Utilities

The bulk of electricity is transmitted by
Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited, commonly referred to as KETRACO, is a wholly-owned parastatal of the Government of Kenya which serves as the primary Transmission System Operator in the Republic of Kenya. Location The headquart ...
. In Kenya, there are plans by the
government of Kenya , image = , caption = Coat of arms of Kenya , date = 1963 , jurisdiction = Republic of Kenya , url = http://www.mygov.go.ke/ , legislature = Parliament of Kenya , meeting_place = ...
, to end the monopoly of the electricity distribution market; but until that happens, power distribution is only held by one company;
Kenya Power and Lighting Company Kenya Power and Lighting Company, commonly referred to as Kenya Power or shortened KPLC, is a public liability company which transmits, distributes and retails electricity to customers throughout Kenya. Location KPLC headquarters are at Stima P ...
(Kenya Power). However,
Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...
(KenGen), is responsible for generating approximately 90% of installed capacity. Independent Power Producers (IPPs) are responsible for about 10% of installed capacity. The following IPPs are active in Kenya: (a) Westmont (b) AEP Energy Africa (Iberafrica) (c) OrPower4 Kenya Limited (a subsidiary of
Ormat Technologies Ormat Technologies, Inc. is an international company based in Reno, Nevada, United States. Ormat supplies alternative and renewable geothermal energy technology. The company has built over 190 power plants and installed over 3,200 MW. As of ...
) (d) Tsavo Power Company (e) Aggreko (f) Africa Geothermal International


Consumption

The biggest consumer of electricity in Kenya is
Kenya Pipeline Company Kenya Pipeline Company (''KPC'') is a state corporation that has the responsibility of transporting, storing and delivering petroleum products to the consumers of Kenya by its pipeline system and oil depot network. Overview The Kenya Pipelin ...
, followed by
Bamburi Cement Bamburi Cement Limited is an industrial company in Kenya specialising in cement and concrete. The company has operations in Bamburi suburb of Mombasa, it is headquartered in Nairobi and its stock is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. ...
. As of July 2018, of the 6.5 million Kenya Power's customers, 5 percent or 348,459, were commercial customers (including businesses and factories). Of these, the largest 6,000, were responsible for 60 percent of the national power consumption, averaging in excess of 15,000 electricity units per month. Peak consumption around 1,830 MW often occurs 1940hrs while baseload (minimum demand) of about 900MW happens at 3:30 am. Average electricity consumption per citizen is 167 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year. From November 2018, households and businesses consuming less than 100 kWh/month pay a subsidized rate of KSh.10/= per kWh.


Future


Sources of electricity

One estimate of projected electricity supply and demand as follows:


Projected generation mix according to nuclear agency

OBS: Not official plan


Rural electrification

Karanja describes the role that a coordinated approach to
rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion ...
can play. Numerical electricity system modeling combined with
geographical information Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also call ...
can provide useful inputs.


Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP)

Seven countries came together because they saw mutual benefit in having one power pool. The original countries were (a) Burundi (b) Democratic Republic of the Congo (c) Egypt (d) Ethiopia (e) Kenya (f) Rwanda and (g) Sudan. Later, more countries joined the pool: (a) Tanzania (b) Libya (c) Djibouti and (d) Uganda. The objective of the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) is to increase the volume and reduce the cost of electricity supply in Kenya; and to provide revenues to Ethiopia through the export of electricity from Ethiopia to Kenya. The process of connecting the Ethiopian grid to the Kenyan grid is underway via the
Sodo–Moyale–Suswa High Voltage Power Line Sodo–Moyale–Suswa High Voltage Power Line (or Ethiopia–Kenya HVDC Interconnector) is a 500 kV bipolar high-voltage direct current electricity power transmission line, under construction, connecting the Wolayta converter station () near So ...
. Kenya also plans to be connected to the South African grid, through Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. That process is also underway as of July 2018, via the Isinya–Singida High Voltage Power Line.


Geothermal power

Geothermal power plants, which convert steam generated from hot rocks deep underground into electricity, have a prominent place in Kenya's overarching development plans. These include the Vision 2030, the NCCAP, and the current ‘5000+ MW in 40 months initiative’. Geothermal power has the potential to provide reliable, cost-competitive, baseload power with a small carbon footprint, and reduces vulnerability to climate by diversifying power supply away from hydropower, which currently provides the majority of Kenya's electricity. Kenya has set out ambitious targets for geothermal energy. It aims to expand its geothermal power production capacity to 5,000 MW by 2030, with a medium-term target of installing 1887 MW by 2017. As of October 2014, Kenya has an installed geothermal capacity of approximately 340 MW. Although there is significant political will and ambition, reaching these ambitions is a major challenge. Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) and
Geothermal Development Company The Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is a wholly owned parastatal of the Government of Kenya. It is mandated to execute surface geothermal development, including prospecting for, drilling, harnessing and selling geothermal energy to electri ...
aim at raising the country's geothermal output from the current 593 MW, to 1 GW by the year 2018 and 5 GW to the grid by 2030.


Nuclear power

In 2017, the Kenya Nuclear Electrification Board (Kneb) estimated that a 1,000 MW nuclear plant could be operational by 2027 and cost KSh.500 – 600 billion/= (US$5 – 6 billion) located at either the Indian Ocean,
Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. With a surface area of approximately , Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake by area, the world's largest tropical lake, and the world's second-largest fresh water lake by surface area after ...
or
Lake Turkana Lake Turkana (), formerly known as Lake Rudolf, is a lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, in northern Kenya, with its far northern end crossing into Ethiopia. It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake. B ...
. In September 2010 former Energy and Petroleum Ministry PS Patrick Nyoike announced, that Kenya aimed to build a 1,000 MW
Nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...
plant between 2017 and 2022. For Kenya to achieve middle-income status, Nyoike viewed nuclear energy as the best way to produce safe, clean, reliable and base load (constant supply) electricity. The projected cost using South Korean technology was US$3.5 billion.


Petroleum


Consumption

In 2017, Kenya consumed , of
diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...
. The same year, the country used , of refined
petrol Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organic co ...
. The monthly figures are 213 million litres of diesel, 150 million litres petrol, and 39 million litres kerosene.


Imports

In 2011, Kenya imported about per day of crude oil entirely from the United Arab Emirates, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS). Kenya imported per day of refined oil products in 2011, according to KNBS. Kenya has a product pipeline system that transports petroleum products from Mombasa to inland areas. Kenya had one of the largest crude oil refineries in East Africa, the per day Mombasa refinery. The refinery typically operated below capacity and processed Murban heavy crude from Abu Dhabi and other heavy Middle-Eastern crude grades. The refinery was shut down in February 2016.


Reserves

In 2012 oil was discovered in Kenya. As of May 2016, proven reserves were estimated at 766 million barrels. This puts Kenya ahead of
Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
in the global rankings.
Tullow Oil Tullow Oil plc is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland, with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. His ...
, one of the companies prospecting for oil in the country, is of the opinion that the national reserves are in excess of 1 billion barrels.


Production

After the collapse of negotiations to build the Uganda-Kenya Crude Oil Pipeline, Kenya began to make plans to build the Kenya Crude Oil Pipeline (costing $1.1 billion or KSh.110 billion/=) on its own, expected in 2022. Turkana oil is expected to be produced at per day, so Kenya expects not to build an oil refinery, as that would require per day to operate commercially.


Challenges

Fuelwood demand in the country is 3.5 million tonnes per year while its supply is 1.5 million tonnes per year. The massive deficit in fuelwood supply has led to high rates of deforestation in both exotic and indigenous vegetation resulting in adverse environmental effects such as desertification,
land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious ...
, droughts and famine.


Carbon emissions

Kenya emits .03 percent of the world carbon dioxide, which is about 12.62 (Million Metric Tons of CO₂).


See also

*
Kenya Electricity Generating Company Kenya Electricity Generating Company PLC abbreviated to KenGen, is a government enterprise in the Republic of Kenya charged with the production of electricity for the country. KenGen is the largest electric power producer in Kenya, generating ...
*
List of power stations in Kenya The following page lists power stations in Kenya. Geothermal Hydroelectric Fossil fuels: oil, coal, and gas Wind Solar See also *Energy in Kenya * List of largest power stations in the world * List of power stations in Afri ...
*
Renewable energy in Kenya Kenya Renewable Energy Most of Kenya's electricity is generated by renewable energy sources. Access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy is one of the 17 main goals of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Development ...


References


External links


Renewable Energy Portal (Kenya)

Ministry of Energy and Petroleum (Kenya)

Energy Regulatory Commission (Kenya)

Geothermal Development Company (Kenya)

Kenya Power

KenGen

Energy act 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Energy In Kenya Infrastructure in Kenya Energy companies of Kenya