Jubilee government has launched the 50MW Solar Power Plant that is going to be the biggest station in East and Central Africa. The project is being implemented at a cost of Kshs. 13.6Billion, US$.135.78million and will be completed by December 2017. The project will provide power to Garissa, Wajir and Mandera. Balambala, Modogashe and Bura will also be connected. The project will not only benefit the country through technology and skills but also create jobs and light up around 625,000 homesteads.
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#TukoPamoja
@spear, has the deal been finalized and when will the construction start
Why use all that money for an unreliable erratic solar power. So what will happen at night when sun sets.
You don’t put JUBILEE And REA together in one sentence.
You don’t put JUBILEE And REA together in one sentence.
The area is already connected to the national grid but using low grade power lines, this is just a boost until the high power grid funded by france is complete. All the same i agree with you that solar power is only effective during the day for business/industry use during working hours. At night its useless and that is why solar power has never been considered as load power.
[SIZE=4]Kenya’s largest solar plant inks power sale deal
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Rural Electrification Authority chairman Simon Gicharu. PHOTO | FILE
By NEVILLE OTUKI, [email protected]
Posted Thursday, September 29 2016 at 19:20
IN SUMMARY
[ul]
[li]REA has signed the power purchase agreement with Kenya Power to sell electricity from the polar plant at Sh12 ($0.12) per kilowatt hour (kWh).[/li][li]The 55MW solar farm in the north eastern town of Garissa will be fed to the national grid and is expected to produce enough power to light up 625,000 homes.[/li][/ul]
East Africa’s largest solar power plant in northern Kenya is set to add cheap power to the national grid for onward sale to homes and businesses. The Rural Electrification Authority (REA), which is developing the plant, has signed the power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power to sell electricity from the Sh13.7 billion solar plant at Sh12 ($0.12) per kilowatt hour (kWh) — about Sh8 cheaper than diesel-generated power. The 55-megawatt solar farm in the north eastern town of Garissa will be fed to the national grid and is expected to produce enough power to light up 625,000 homes.
“Construction will start anytime from now after we signed a 25-year PPA with Kenya Power on Wednesday,” REA chairman Simon Gicharu said at a meeting in Nairobi with officials from China — the financier.
China Jiangxi is the contractor of the solar firm using a Sh13.7 billion ($135.7 million) loan from China’s Exim Bank. The REA had in March announced that construction would start in July but suffered delays, partly because of prolonged talks for the PPA with Kenya Power. Solar experts reckon that Kenya has a high potential to generate solar energy given high radiation levels from the sun throughout the year. The project is set to wean Garissa off its reliance on expensive thermal electricity and boost economic activity. The solar farm will sit on 85-hectare parcel of land with 200,200 solar panels and is expected to be the largest in East and Central Africa. It will be located 20km from Garissa town and is expected to create 1,000 jobs during the construction period. The plant is also expected to cut Kenya’s carbon emissions by an estimated 43,000 tonnes per year for trading in the global carbon market. The State agency said solar energy offers Kenya the shortest route to lighting off-grid towns that have for long relied on expensive diesel generators to produce electricity. Kenya has more than 300 days of sunshine per year, double Germany’s — which is the global leader in solar energy production with an installed capacity of more than 40,000 megawatts. Kenya’s total power capacity stands at 2,333 megawatts, with solar power accounting for less than one per cent. The country relies on a mix of hydropower priced at Sh3 per unit, geothermal (Sh7) while thermal tops Sh20 per unit. The government in 2013 set an ambitious plan to install additional 5,000 megawatts to the grid by end of next year from renewable sources such as geothermal, solar and wind farms. Kenya targets to connect all homes to power by 2020.
Ukiona Keter na Duale wakitabasamu hivyo, jua nyama imesha tumbukia mdomoni!
All in all we have seen good proposals before, the end result remains to be seen and the awaiting scandals.
How much is this power going to retail per KWH?
Don’t be lazy, read the damn article
Meanwhile this has arrived in Mombasa last week to be inspected by customs and get clearance to go start the drenching of the Lamu port harbour.
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Go and do some reading before making such a silly comment.
Exactly,
Kenya actually needs some ass kicking coal plants.
All the winds/solar farms are toys marketed around by developed countries.
And why don’t educate us here. Write down what you that we don’t, insults doesn’t help anyone nor make you look educated.
Oh no you didn’t… 
You are saying there is a way power can effectively be stored in such a way that batteries can provides power at night just like day time. if you have never used a solar power, you can’t understand how storing power is a big challenge
I’m not your teacher, and if you’re over 20, it’s too late anyway.