Kenyan counties to benefit from UK PACT-funded project

Ricardo is supporting three counties in Kenya to develop clean energy plans to bring electricity to more than two million rural inhabitants.

Ricardo and sub-contractors Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) will partner with the county governments of Baringo, Migori and Tana River, to produce effective electricity development plans to enrich the lives of residents.

Ricardo’s specialists and the team from KCCWG will equip the counties with a toolkit that helps them produce sound electricity development plans, and the project will take full advantage of the natural resources available within each county, including biomass, waste, solar, hydro and wind.

Initial funding has been awarded by UK Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions (UK PACT), and it is hoped that securing additional resources could allow the programme to extend to other counties.

Jackie Nyaoro, Ricardo Business Development Manager, said: “As specialists in clean energy, Ricardo will promote co-ordinated new investment in low-carbon decentralised electricity generation, considering the needs for different technological solutions, including mini-grid and off-grid solutions.

“This isn’t just about providing power for their homes. The lack of electricity creates more fundamental issues, affecting all areas of inhabitants’ lives – education, health and how they provide for their families – so bringing power to these counties will considerably improve quality of life while supporting the environment.”

Steps have been made towards increasing the country’s overall electrification target but data from the World Bank collection of development indicators shows that less than 70% of the country had access to electricity in 2019.

More recently Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions, the country’s planned climate actions in line with the Paris Agreement, identify the energy sector as a priority with high potential to cut down emissions and contribute to a 32% greenhouse gas reduction by 2030.

John Kioli, Chairman Kenya Climate Change Working Group, said: “We welcome the project which is a big boost to the implementation of the Energy Act 2019 that devolved energy planning. This project will also offer practical tools to support implementation of our National Climate Change Action Plan.”

May Panga, County Executive Committee Member for Energy-Baringo County, said: “It is important to note that the support will provide opportunities for investment and development in clean and renewable energy sources, promote the use of energy efficient techniques, so as to reduce household and institutional demand on biomass energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”