Solar panels at Strathmore University. --FILE
Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has commissioned a study as
Kenya seeks to attract investors to tap into the largely unexploited
solar power segment.
The survey, which involves solar
financing models and mini grids, is expected to guide policy options
meant to hot up the market.
“The objective of the study
is to assess the current status of the solar industry, establish the
capacity of the installed systems and recommend measures to enhance
uptake of the technology,” the ERC said in a notice published last week
Strathmore
University in Nairobi is currently the only institution that has
connected its 0.6-megawatt solar power plant to the national grid.
The
majority of solar systems in use are for own consumption by homes and
institutions, making it difficult to keep records, an area the impending
study seeks to explore.
The law requires owners of residential and commercial buildings,
whose hot water needs exceed 100 litres per day, to install solar water
heating systems, failure of which they risk a jail term or Sh1 million
fine.
With about half of Kenyan population not
connected to the power grid, private investors are rushing to tap this
market by setting up small solar-powered stations for off-grid homes.
This
has given rise to solar powered mini grids in off-grid villages
constructed by Nairobi-based PowerGen (Isiolo), Vulcan, owned by
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen (Kajiado and Samburu) and US-based
Powerhive (Kisii).
No comments:
Post a Comment