One County in Rural Kenya Is Using Clean Energy to Close its Electricity Gap

Makueni County Referral Hospital is the biggest health facility in its area of rural Kenya, treating approximately 500 patients a day in a region where modern infrastructure can be hard to come by. But its operations are costly. The local government spends about Ksh. 24 million ($187,000) each year on the facility's electricity bills alone - money that could otherwise help expand healthcare or provide other benefits.

But there is good news for the people of Makueni: The county government installed a new solar PV system at the facility that will generate 288 MWh annually, enough to meet 30-33% of the hospital's electricity needs. In addition to saving the county government up to Ksh 7 million ($ 55,000) annually, the system will help provide a consistent, stable and clean power source, including during power outages that have become a common occurrence in the country.

And this isn't an isolated project. Solar-powered healthcare facilities are just one element of Makueni County's new Energy Plan launching on Sept. 17, 2024.

Underpinned by geospatial data and analysis, the plan targets several areas where clean energy can not only provide necessary electricity, but also bring social, environmental and economic benefits -things like higher crop yields or larger incomes. It showcases the promise renewable energy holds for rural communities in Kenya and beyond.

Tomato farmers harvest their crop in Makueni County, Kenya. Photo by Jake Lyell/Alamy Stock Photo

Boosting Energy Access in Makueni County and Beyond

While Kenya has made significant progress in expanding access to energy in recent years, 12.9 million Kenyans still lacked electricity in 2022, while another 39 million went without clean fuels and cooking technologies. Makueni County is no exception: 250,000 people don't have any form of electricity.

Even for those with grid connections, electricity prices are rising. National average costs jumped from US$ 0.17 in 2020 to US$ 0.24 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2024 for domestic users, and US$ 0.10 to $0.15 per kWh for commercial consumers during the same period.

A reliable supply of power - and the ability to afford it - bring so much more than electricity. With only 35% of Makueni County's population connected to the grid and mini-grids, many rural smallholder farmers can't grow enough crops because electricity is needed to power irrigation, or they lose their produce because there isn't energy for refrigeration and storage. Schools, hospitals and large businesses must either invest in costly and polluting diesel generators or are forced to interrupt their operations during power cuts.

Kenya's Energy Act 2019 mandates energy planning to the county-level, recognizing the importance of locally led solutions and policies. Yet so far, only six counties (including Makueni) have developed energy plans; 11 are in the process and the remaining 30 haven't started. Part of the problem is capacity constraints, insufficient funding to facilitate development of the plans, and lack of reliable data and open source analytical tools.

Makueni County's Energy Plan Sets Its Sights on Clean Energy

That's where Makueni County differs from its peers. To support development of the Makueni County Energy Plan (CEP), WRI and Strathmore University used geospatial technologies and tools like KoBo Collect to gather and analyze primary data; WRI's Energy Access Explorer (EAE) to identify high-priority areas for energy interventions; and the Open Source Spatial Electrification Tool (OnSSET) to estimate the technology and investment costs required to meet electrification targets. This data-driven approach allowed officials to assess the county's energy needs and pinpoint solutions - oftentimes finding that clean energy was the best option.

The energy plan prioritizes five opportunities for clean energy development:

Solar panels on a farm in Makueni County, Kenya. Solar can power irrigation, refrigerators and other technologies that help farmers boost their yields and increase incomes. Photo by Makueni County government.

1) Electrifying Unserved and Under-served Households

While access to electricity in Kenya has improved tremendously over the last two decades, only 25% of households in Makueni are connected to power. The priority for Makueni County's government was to identify affordable options for supplying reliable power to the remaining households.

Domestic electrification in Makueni County (high demand scenario), from WRI's Energy Access Explorer platform.

The plan sets targets to both expand the grid where appropriate, develop wind and hydro-electric power, and invest in solar mini grids and standalone solar home systems.

2) Powering Productive Use of Renewable Energy in Agriculture

Productive use of renewable energy (PURE) is a concept that leverages machines powered by renewable energy to expand energy access, boost economic growth, improve livelihoods and drive clean energy demand. PURE opportunities can stimulate increased consumption of electricity while enhancing the resilience of local populations, diversifying livelihoods and strengthening rural economies. But there's a need for more granular data and analysis to demonstrate where these opportunities exist, particularly in the agricultural and other sectors. Makueni County's new energy plan identifies seven priority value chains (including mung beans, maize, fruits, vegetables, fish, poultry, and dairy) where access to renewable energy would help stimulate energy consumption as well as economic growth.

3) Powering Hospitals with Solar

Access to affordable and reliable energy is central to the provision of quality healthcare. After all, ventilators, vaccine refrigerators, X-rays and other life-saving equipment cannot run without power. Yet while the Makueni County government has prioritized delivery of quality healthcare to all under its universal healthcare program, access to reliable and affordable electricity remains a major barrier.

The Energy Access Explorer platform pinpoints the location of 68 healthcare facilities in Makueni County that lack electricity.

According to data from WRI's Energy Access Explorer, 68 healthcare facilities from the county are not connected to the grid. Those that are connected incur high power costs, forcing the county government to spend huge amounts of its revenue on energy bills. To cut these costs, the county administration intends to collaborate with development partners and other investors to electrify the unconnected health care facilities, while investing in solar PV for those that are connected to the grid to reduce monthly energy bills. Analysis done to inform the plan showed that 73% of the county's healthcare facilities can be electrified using stand-alone solar PV, while the remaining 27% will rely on grid power.

4) Expanding E-Mobility

Electric vehicles continue to gain momentum across Sub-Saharan African countries, including Kenya. Two and three-wheeler EVs can unlock rural mobility while decarbonizing transport. But the growth in EV adoption will increase demand for electricity, which could negatively affect grid stability. Proper planning for grid capacity and associated charging infrastructure is essential.

Makueni County's energy plan identifies 20 feasible locations for setting up EV charging stations near major towns in the county, which can be connected to existing grid infrastructure.

5) Investment and Financing for a Clean Energy Future

The plan's associated investment prospectus also identifies a pipeline of 12 PURE investable projects. It presents data and information on the size, location and possible financing options. It also estimates potential return on investment.

About $4.9 million will be required to unlock the opportunities in the agriculture and livelihood sectors, while another $1.2 million will need to be invested in expanding solar PV and energy storage for the county's two main healthcare facilities. Innovative business models including blended finance mechanisms could help unlock this level of funding. Collaborations with Chinese investors through platforms like the China-Africa Partnership that WRI China and WRI Africa along with other partners are working on presents strategic opportunities. The county administration is also exploring avenues for public-private partnerships.

Next Steps to Power Kenya with Clean Energy

While the new energy plan represents progress, much is still needed to implement it. In addition to the investment needed for PURE, about US$180 million will be needed for grid expansion across the county, benefitting about 800,000 people, while another US$179 million will be required for standalone solar PV systems targeting about 480,000 people. With support from UKPACT, WRI and Strathmore University are collaborating with the government of Makueni County to develop its energy policy, aimed at addressing policy and regulatory interventions to drive private sector participation in financing these opportunities, while guiding implementation of the energy plan.

Nationally, it will be important to scale this model to support the remaining sub-national governments in developing their own inclusive and integrated energy plans, informed by data. Collaboration between the national government, development partners, the private sector and other non-state actors will be key.