EDITORIAL: Accelerate investments in green energy sources

Reports that the injection of Lake Turkana Wind Power’s energy into the national grid has saved electricity consumers Sh8.5 billion in fuel cost charges in ten months are welcome.

According to the firm, additional cheaper electricity from the wind farm has helped to significantly lower the country’s reliance on diesel-powered generators during the drought period from late last year to April this year.

According to data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics , wind accounted for 781.14 million units or 13.75 percent of 5.68 billion units of electricity generated between October 2018 and March 2019.

This was a steep rise from 32.92 million units or 0.63 percent of capacity a year earlier.

In that period, thermal power generation dropped 54.51 percent to 570.55 million units.

The developments are indeed good news for power consumers who have been bearing the heavy burden of rising energy bills.

There are numerous advantages to scaling up investments in green energy sources like wind and solar as they help lower the costs of power for households and manufacturers.

The fuel levy is influenced by the share of electricity from the diesel generators and is a major driver of power bills since it is loaded onto customers’ electricity bills in addition to 16 percent value added tax, forex levy and inflation charge.

The government should be commended for gradually weaning itself from its heavy reliance on hydro sources of energy, which always takes a beating when rains fail.

More investments in wind, geothermal and solar are the way to go if we want to grow the country’s economy.

We urge the government to accelerate investments in green energy sources since that will help Kenyans have access to cheaper sources of power.

This in turn will help spur the country’s economic development with enterprises not being bogged down by high power costs that are in turn passed on to the consumers of goods.

Entrenching cheaper power sources will also help woo more international investors into the country.

Many investors are largely attracted by cheaper costs of operations when they are setting up in a country. That in turn helps create new jobs for the local population.