Garissa Power Station is a

solar Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...

power plant in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Location

The power station is located in

Garissa County Garissa County is a county in Kenya located in Eastern Kenya bordering Somalia to the East, Wajir County and Isiolo County to the North, Tana River County to the West, Lamu County to the South and the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest ur ...

about , north of the town of

Garissa Garissa ( Arabic: قارسا) is the capital of Garissa County, Kenya. It is situated in the former North Eastern Province. Geography The Tana River, which rises in Mount Kenya east of Nyeri, flows through Garissa. The Bour-Algi Giraffe ...

. This is approximately by road, north-east of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, the country's capital and largest city.

Overview

The solar farm sits on and consists of 200,200 solar panels and is expected to be the largest in East and Central Africa. It is expected to create about 1,000 jobs during the construction period. The power from this power station is enough to power about 625,000 homes. The power station is owned and operated b
Kenya Rural Electrification Authority
a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

agency. The power generated will be sold to Kenya Power and Lighting for integration into the national grid. In February 2018, the

Business Daily Africa ''Business Daily Africa'', commonly known as ''Business Daily'', is an English-language daily business newspaper published in Kenya. The newspaper is published by Nation Media Group from its headquarters at Nation Centre on Kimathi Street in Nair ...

, reported that the expected commissioning of this power plant had been pushed back to December 2018, following delays. The solar park sells electricity wholesale to Kenya Power at Sh5.49 per unit. The power purchase agreement, signed in September 2016, calls for Kenya Power to sell electricity from the solar plant at KSh12 (US$0.12) per kilowatt hour, approximately KSh8 cheaper than diesel-generated electricity.

Construction timeline, costs, and funding

China Jiangxi
, a Chinese construction company was awarded the construction contract at a budgeted cost of KSh13.7 billion ($135.7 million), borrowed from

Exim Bank of China Exim is a mail transfer agent (MTA) used on Unix-like operating systems. Exim is a free software distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License, and it aims to be a general and flexible mailer with extensive facilities for checkin ...

. Construction was expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2016 and was expected to last one year. Due to prolonged negotiations in securing a power purchase agreement from Kenya Power and Lighting, construction of this project was delayed. As of February 2018, commissioning of the power station was expected in December 2018. In August 2018,

The EastAfrican ''The EastAfrican'' is a weekly newspaper published in Kenya since 7 November 1994, by the Nation Media Group, which also publishes Kenya's national ''Daily Nation''. The ''EastAfrican'' also circulates in the other countries of the African Grea ...

reported that the new commissioning date had been brought forward to September 2018. The solar power plant was officially launched by President

Uhuru Kenyatta Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta ( born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022. The son of Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya's first president, he previously served as Prime Minister of Kenya, Deputy Pri ...

on December 13, 2019.

References

{{reflist

External links

Website of Kenya Rural Electrification Authority

Kenya unveils plans to construct largest solar power plant in East Africa
Solar power stations in Kenya Garissa County Energy infrastructure completed in 2018 2018 establishments in Kenya

Location

Overview

Construction timeline, costs, and funding

See also

References

External links