CONCEPT PAPER

FOR A SOLAR ENERGY DRIVE

BY THE GOVERNMENT OF KENYA:
“SETTING THE AFRICAN RENEWABLE ENERGY AGENDA”

Background

One of the main areas of concern in our world today is climate change and
the move to cap global carbon emissions through investment in energy
efficiency and clean energy technologies. The culmination of these
international efforts is the achievement of a new international climate
agreement at the COP15 climate change conference to be held in
Copenhagen in December 2009.

Following on from the World Solar Summit in Harare and the launch of the
World Solar Programme 1996-2005 - encompassing all forms of renewable
energy, including solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, biomass, wind, hydro,
tidal, wave, ocean thermal and geothermal - UNESCO provided the
international community with an instrument for the promotion of renewable
forms of energy. This led to the initiation and implementation local and
national projects using energy from renewable sources, with new and
renewable energy sources beginning to enter the mainstream of national and
international energy-policy formulation.

Fossil-fuel reserves - especially oil, but also natural gas and coal - are
ultimately finite natural resources. Together with greater energy efficiency,
greater reliance on advanced energy technologies and a more sustainable
use of traditional energy sources, new and renewable sources of energy will
have to make a greater contribution to the future energy-supply mix if the
rising global energy demand is to be met, and if energy costs, which are
often projected to rise considerably in the future, are to remain at affordable
levels.

Demand for energy is expected to triple in the next thirty years with
alternative energy anticipated to cover the gap. Solar energy is emerging as
an investment opportunity globally and its use is projected to grow by 40 per
cent for next five years.

Local Initiatives

In Kenya, Ministry of Energy (MoE) estimates put the figure of free

megawatts of power the country receives from the sun every day at around
3,000 million, with an annual average exposure to sunshine of about 10
hours per day in most regions, and an annual mean radiation of 4 – 6 KWh
per square metre. The government has gone as far as launching a blue print
for promoting Kenya's renewable energy sources tying into The Kenya
Energy Sector Environment Program (KEEP) which will promote efficient
energy use and environmental conservation.

An estimated 220,000 solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) and 7,000 solar thermal units
are currently in use in Kenya with

"Frequent droughts, unpredictable oil prices call for a drastic, deliberate and
accelerated diversification of our power generation mix in favour of
financially viable green energy sources," said Energy Minister Kiraitu Murungi

Businesses are beginning to stake more ground in the field, with a Chinese
company, Beijing Tianpu Xianxing Enterprises, entering into a Sh9 billion
partnership with Electrogen Technologies a Kenyan firm to build the first
solar panel factory in East Africa. It is estimated that the venture - Pan
African Technologies - could see the prices of solar panels drop by up to 65
per cent.

Kenya Data Networks, a local technology firm, has been able to reduce its
energy costs by 80 per cent in the sunny season and 50 per cent during the
cold season by commissioning a Sh7.4 million solar energy plant for rural
areas to offer cost saving power solutions and ease the rollout of digital
villages.

In joint public-private Solar initiatives, Chloride Exide (Kenya) is benefitting

from a Sh300 million MoE government sponsored programme to install solar
electricity converters in over 30 secondary schools in arid and semi-arid
lands in North Eastern, Eastern, Rift Valley and Coast Provinces.

The Idea

We aim to develop a policy and implementation strategy for the Government

of Kenya to undertake solar power installations in its buildings and
associated premises. This should see the majority of government buildings
energy needs derived from solar sources thus cutting down its grid-based
electricity needs dramatically. While this seems an enormous task, it is our
belief a pilot based on the long-term cost-benefit analysis should indicate the

Carbon trading energy ‘saved’ from solar installations can be traded to other
countries under the Kyoto Protocol where developing countries may sell
emission credits and receive funds and technology from Annex II countries
for climate-related studies and projects.

Where has this worked before? As part of the World Solar Programme 1996-
2005, the Secretariat of the World Solar Commission initiated the
implementation of some High Priority National Projects (HPNP) with one of
the Zimbabwe HPNPs - Solar Electrification of Rural Institutions - receiving a
USS10.5 million funding in the form of a grant from the Italian Government
and in other in another country, the Umbuji village in Zanzibar, Tanzania was
equipped with solar energy equipment for households.

The continued commitment of the World Bank Group to the practical,

effective and direct promotion of new and renewable sources of energy is
also manifested in the recent decision to rely on renewable energy for 100
per cent of the power needs of its headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Around the world, solar power is slowly gaining recognition as a reliable and
cheap form of energy. Internet firm, Google, recently implemented the
world's largest corporate solar installation, installing 9,212 solar panels to
gain 1,600 kilowatts to power the firm’s offices.

Core Components (The Strategy)

The strategy entails:

• Gain visibility for the Government’s drive to be an energy policy leader

in the developing world,
• To build the case for adoption of Feed-In Tariffs by the government to
encourage the further development of renewable sources of energy,
• Expand the benefits of carbon trading in a world that is becoming
increasingly aware of climate change

References

Report of the Secretary-General, 25 July 2005, Promotion of new

and renewable sources of energy, including the culmination of the
World Solar Programme 1996-2005, United Nations General
Assembly Sixtieth Session.

Kui Kinyanjui, Business Daily (Nairobi), 17 August 2007

Source: Renewable Energy for Development, World Bank Group,

Washington, D.C. (May 2004); see www.worldbank.org.

Kefa V. O. Rabah, Renewable Energy, Volume 30, Issue 1, January

2005, Pages 23-42

Ramadhan Rajab, The East African Standard, 16th July 2009.