- Kenyan authorities have declared an end to future power shortages in the east African state, saying the government will move into solar, wind and geothermal power generation to put an end to blackouts.
The Energy minister, Kiraitu Murungi, said new rules on power management will soon be gazzetted to force all buildings within the city and other major towns to install solar water heaters.
The minister’s statement comes less than two months after the end of a severe power rationing scheme following reduced water levels in the hydropower generating firms due to long droughts.
He said the government had reduced the exploration and project costs in the generation of geothermal energy in a bid to attract them into the field.
Geothermal wells are expensive to sink with one costing approximately Sh490 million ($6.5milion) thus the need for the involvement of the private sector he noted.
“It has also been difficult to attract private sector investments in geothermal due to the extremely high front end costs,” he said.
To facilitate and deepen private sector participation, the ministry will from December install 33 wind masts and data loggers to collect data at various sites across the country to augment the information contained in the Ministry of Energy’s current Wind Atlas.
“The data which will be collected will be analysed and the reports given to the private sector to assist in making investment decisions on the size and timing of investment,” he said.
A feed in tariff policy for geothermal would also be developed which would be ascertained by the cost capital, Mr Murungi added.
Reliable energy supply has been touted as one of the key ingredients in the march towards a middle-level economy, as envisioned in the country’s development roadmap, Kenya Vision 2030.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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