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I am not a Futurama fan .
Kenya sihami
Side A. 2020
Kenya is set to build a $5 billion (Sh540 billion) nuclear power plant on a site in Tana River County
Kenya is set to build a $5 billion (Sh540 billion) nuclear power plant on a site in Tana River County over the next seven years with funding from private investors.
The Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (KNEB) in a regulatory filing with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) revealed that the plant with an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatt (Mw) plant would be constructed through a concessionaire.
The government looks to expand the plant’s capacity fourfold by 2035 under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.
The KNEB plan will be subjected to public scrutiny before the environmental watchdog can approve it and pave the way for the project to continue.
Kenya views nuclear power both as a long-term solution to high fuel costs — incurred during times of drought when diesel generators are used — and an effective way to cut carbon emissions from the power generating sector. The KNEB said private funding for the nuclear plant would ease the burden on Kenya’s strained public coffers. The estimated cost of the nuclear plant is nearly half the government’s annual tax collections.
Side B : Pikeni na Stima
East Africa power consumers unable to buy the surplus
Saturday May 11 2019
Electricity consumers in East Africa will continue to pay high prices despite significant investments in generation plants that have resulted in surplus output of power.
It is increasingly emerging that the promise of cheap power will not materialise any time soon, mainly because of policy and planning failures that have culminated to a mismatch between supply and demand for power.
The three big economies Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s combined peak electricity demand now stands at about 3,300 MW, way below the installed capacity of 5,500 MW.
For investors who have pumped billions of dollars into East Africa’s energy generation, the lack of capacity to consume available power is turning out to be a huge financial risk. Most of them relied on foreign loans with strict payment schedules that are now starting to loom large.
That is not all. Total installed capacity is expected to hit 10,000 MW in the medium-term with completion of ongoing projects but demand is expected to grow at a steady pace of about six per cent per annum saddled with subdued manufacturing sector.
Inefficient transmission
Rizwan Fazal, the Lake Turkana Wind Power executive director reckons that the cost of power is not coming down because of the excess power available in the system that has left the consumer with the burden of paying for idle capacity.
Some analysts, however, insist that excess capacity is not the problem, but rather the absence of an efficient transmission system to transfer power where it is needed.
“The problem in Kenya is not excess capacity but that people who need power cannot get it because of lack of transmission lines,” said Prof Izael Pereira Da Silva, the Energy Research Centre director at Strathmore University.
Side A. 2020
Kenya is set to build a $5 billion (Sh540 billion) nuclear power plant on a site in Tana River County
Kenya is set to build a $5 billion (Sh540 billion) nuclear power plant on a site in Tana River County over the next seven years with funding from private investors.
The Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board (KNEB) in a regulatory filing with the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) revealed that the plant with an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatt (Mw) plant would be constructed through a concessionaire.
The government looks to expand the plant’s capacity fourfold by 2035 under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) model.
The KNEB plan will be subjected to public scrutiny before the environmental watchdog can approve it and pave the way for the project to continue.
Kenya views nuclear power both as a long-term solution to high fuel costs — incurred during times of drought when diesel generators are used — and an effective way to cut carbon emissions from the power generating sector. The KNEB said private funding for the nuclear plant would ease the burden on Kenya’s strained public coffers. The estimated cost of the nuclear plant is nearly half the government’s annual tax collections.
Side B : Pikeni na Stima
East Africa power consumers unable to buy the surplus
Saturday May 11 2019
Electricity consumers in East Africa will continue to pay high prices despite significant investments in generation plants that have resulted in surplus output of power.
It is increasingly emerging that the promise of cheap power will not materialise any time soon, mainly because of policy and planning failures that have culminated to a mismatch between supply and demand for power.
The three big economies Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania’s combined peak electricity demand now stands at about 3,300 MW, way below the installed capacity of 5,500 MW.
For investors who have pumped billions of dollars into East Africa’s energy generation, the lack of capacity to consume available power is turning out to be a huge financial risk. Most of them relied on foreign loans with strict payment schedules that are now starting to loom large.
That is not all. Total installed capacity is expected to hit 10,000 MW in the medium-term with completion of ongoing projects but demand is expected to grow at a steady pace of about six per cent per annum saddled with subdued manufacturing sector.
Inefficient transmission
Rizwan Fazal, the Lake Turkana Wind Power executive director reckons that the cost of power is not coming down because of the excess power available in the system that has left the consumer with the burden of paying for idle capacity.
Some analysts, however, insist that excess capacity is not the problem, but rather the absence of an efficient transmission system to transfer power where it is needed.
“The problem in Kenya is not excess capacity but that people who need power cannot get it because of lack of transmission lines,” said Prof Izael Pereira Da Silva, the Energy Research Centre director at Strathmore University.
