Ministry of Energy and Petroleum cabinet secretary Davis Chirchir has said that negotiations with the African Development Bank (AfDB) for a KSh60bn ($680m) loan for a project to expand access to electricity from 32% to 70% over five years are at an advanced stage and should be completed by December. Disbursement of the first Sh12bn instalment is anticipated in this financial year. Speaking at a media briefing for transmission and.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 19th August 2014

 BLESSED with the potential to generate over 4,000 megawatts of electricity from geothermal sources, the government has formed a company to steer the country into effectively and beneficially tapping it.   Operating as a subsidiary of Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco), the Tanzania Geothermal Development Company started operations in July this year, according to the Energy and Minerals Minister, Professor Sospeter.... Read more »

Posted on : Tuesday , 19th August 2014

American companies should compete to develop power projects if Kenya is to get a bigger chunk of funds under Power Africa, according to Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir.   Power Africa is an initiative by the American government to help double access to electricity in Africa countries. It is initially focusing on six countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia.   The initiative.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 18th August 2014

An Italian company called TerniEnergia has won a contract to engineer, procure and construct two solar power plants in South Africa.   The installed capacity of the plants will be 148.5MW.  A 66MW plant will be built at the Tom Burke solar plant, located near the northern boarder with Botswana, and a 82.5 MW plant will be based in Paleisheuwel in the south-west, 190km from Cape Town.   The contract has to be closed by the.... Read more »

Posted on : Monday , 18th August 2014

 RURAL electrification has proved to be efficient driver in promoting value addition particularly of agricultural products that helped farmers to fetch premium market prices.     Statistics from Rural Energy Agency (REA) shows that there are 16 small hydropower projects operating since 1970's and 13 projects with a total capacity of 28.8 MW which are in various stages of development.     Presenting research paper.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 15th August 2014

 Nairobi — Kenya is set to gain more wind farms as the East African country moves to increase and diversify its clean energy resources. Nairobi-based company Bluesea Energy Ltd has announced it will begin producing 40 megawatts (MW) in the second half of 2015 at its flagship wind power plant in Meru, expanding the renewable energy mix of a country that has previously relied on hydro and geothermal energy. "We are.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 15th August 2014

13 wind power sites will be put up in Kenya through the Wind for Prosperity power project. The sites are meant to benefit mainly the local communities where the wind turbines will be set up in off grid areas.   The project, dubbed Wind for Prosperity, will target establishment of the wind power plants in remote areas in Kenya.   One and three turbines, each with 660 kilowatts will be set up according to Morten Dyrholm, the Vestas.... Read more »

Posted on : Friday , 15th August 2014

 KenGen Assistant Manager Peter Ouma says adoption of geothermal wellhead generators would help reduce the time it takes to generate electricity from geothermal steam wells. Geothermal wellheads are smaller power producing units that generate between 5 and 10 megawatts of electricity. Ouma says the wellheads are affordable and easy to install, and help in early tapping of electricity while waiting for the construction of big geothermal.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 14th August 2014

 Local news source informs that Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has added 140MW to the national grid from the 280 MW Olkaria geothermal project. The 140MW is from two units – one of which has already completed reliability test while the other is expected to complete the test by mid August. At the same time, two more units are expected to commence reliability tests in September and October respectively.It is.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 14th August 2014

 ADDIS ABABA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – As Washington hosts the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit this week, an ambitious but low-profile energy programme announced by President Barack Obama in June 2013 is set to move back into the spotlight.   Power Africa is a U.S. government-led initiative around two-thirds funded by the private sector that aims to double the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa by 2018,.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 14th August 2014

 NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Kenya is set to gain more wind farms as the East African country moves to increase and diversify its clean energy resources.     Nairobi-based company Bluesea Energy Ltd has announced it will begin producing 40 megawatts (MW) in the second half of 2015 at its flagship wind power plant in Meru, expanding the renewable energy mix of a country that has previously relied on hydro and.... Read more »

Posted on : Thursday , 14th August 2014

 Nairobi — "Kenya sits on the Equator making it a country that has the sun the whole year. But it is a paradox because you have less than 2 percent of solar power installations," muses Professor Izael Pereira Da Silva, Director of Energy Research Centre at Strathmore University.     The remaining 98 percent of solar installations, he says, are in countries which are outside the sun-belt. So, where lies the.... Read more »

Posted on : Wednesday , 13th August 2014