Renewable news from East Africa..
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to Commission Largest Wind Farm in Africa
- Lake Turkana Wind Power plant has an installed capacity of 310MW of clean, reliable, low-cost energy
- It has often been said that the future of energy is renewable energy.
This can never be overemphasized how much the world needs to pay attention to the issue of renewable energy. We cannot continue to burn off our planet in search of energy to satisfy our daily industrialization needs when we have an option of clean renewable energy.
There is no denying that Africa has continued to occupy the rear seats on issues regarding renewable energy; but in recent times, Kenya has begged to differ. The country has been experimenting with renewable energy for some time now and now, they have decided to take a huge step.
According to a report by The Standard, President Uhuru Kenyatta will tomorrow commission the much anticipated Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP), located in Marsabit County of the country.
LTWP, which is the largest wind farm in Africa, has an installed capacity of 310MW of clean, reliable, low-cost energy and has 365 wind turbines with a capacity of 850kW each.
The power plant started feeding electricity to the national electricity grid late September 2017 when it was handed the power transmission line that evacuates power from the plant to the grid in Suswa, Narok County.
A statement from State House on Tuesday noted that coming on board of LTWP is a testament of Kenya's commitment to pursue clean sources of energy. It is also a major boost to the country's international commitments to lower greenhouse gas emissions.
“Globally, Kenya is celebrated as one of the leading countries in the world with an energy mix dominated with renewable sources especially from geothermal, a technology in which our country has become a continental center of excellence,” reads the statement.
Big Returns For Businesses In Rutenderi Thanks To New Mini-Grid
A new 50kW mini-grid in the village of Rutenderi in eastern Rwanda, has kick-started the local economy and is beginning to transform the sleepy rural village into a productive hub. The new mini-grid was formally launched on 16 May 2019 and is now making electricity accessible to the whole village, including its 560 households and 36 businesses.
The new mini-grid was commissioned by Absolute Energy, an off-grid utility developer that specialises in renewable energy solutions for businesses in Africa. Energy 4 Impact is a key partner of Absolute Energy, providing the expertise to help small businesses and entrepreneurs to take advantage of the newly available source of power.
Energy 4 Impact helps businesses to realise the benefits of having a reliable source of energy and supports them in developing new lines and activities. This in turn gives a boost to the economic and social development of the whole village as new products and services become available.
https://www.africa.com/big-returns-for-businesses-in-rutenderi-thanks-to-new-mini-grid/
Gas deal to seal Kenyatta legacy, fix trade disputes.
Tanzania and Kenya have agreed in principle to start trading in natural gas, with officials hopeful that the deal will help end the persistent trade spats between the two countries.
The gas deal formed part of the discussions between Tanzanian President John Magufuli and Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta during his recent two-day visit to the country.
The announcement by State House Nairobi came even as the two neighbouring countries remained locked in disputes that have seen a significant drop in trade volumes.
The deal for Tanzania to sell liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has been on the cards for more than a decade, is expected to power one of President Kenyatta’s pet legacy projects — manufacturing — at a time when the country is facing at the potential loss of a significant energy project, the Lamu coal plant.
The project has run into trouble after a Nairobi court ruled that the environment watchdog Nema irregularly issued its licence.
An even cheaper and bigger nuclear power plant has been shrouded in uncertainty over security, environmental and implementation concerns.
18 July 2019
