Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 10 0 015

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Fuel Communications
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jfueco

A comprehensive review of energy scenario and sustainable energy in

Kenya
Mohammed Takase∗, Rogers Kipkoech, Paul Kwame Essandoh
Department of Environmental Science, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The review examined the potential of renewable and non-renewable energy resources and the current
Received 27 August 2020 state of exploitation in Kenya. Energy demand is on the rise, coupled with the rapid increase in popula-
Revised 22 February 2021
tion. As a result, the state spends a large amount of money on the importation of oil. Oil and electricity
Accepted 2 April 2021
are the primary determiners of the economy. The production mix include 52.1% of hydro, 32.5% of fossil
fuels, 13.2% of geothermal energy, 1. 8% of biogas cogeneration, and 0.4% of wind. There is a projection of
Keywords: an increase in current energy demand from 600 MW to 2,60 0–360 0 MW by 2020. The national energy
Energy scenario review indicates that there is a significant reliance on wood for fuel and the other biomass accounting
Sustainable energy for 68% of overall energy usage. It’s used especially among the rural areas, urban, and informal market
Kenya
which has considerably affected its supply and demand. Consequently, there is the destruction of most of
Renewable energy
the vegetation and the forests and existing ones are on the verge of diminishing. The Ministry of Energy
Power
Electricity and Petroleum manages its overall strategy and provides advice on the production and growth of energy
sub-sector, including power, petroleum and renewable energy. The major problem in the energy sector is
limitation in accessibility to the modern energy, high pressure on biomass supplies, rising energy prices,
high demand for electricity than the ability to build new generation, inability of Kenyan Power and Light-
ing Company to link every consumer willing to purchase and consider cost of rural electrification by grid
development due to dispersion.
© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

1. Introduction Currently Kenya is among the countries in the Sub-Saharan

Energy is very important for economic progress of a country.
It is a necessity which affects manufacturing of all goods and ser-
vices. It also has impact on all as aspects of development, ranging
from environment, social, economic, agriculture, population and
livelihood. Accessing energy is crucial for the development of in-
dustries since it gives important services that are necessary in en-
hancing the quality of life. Nevertheless, petroleum products being
the major source of energy mostly for transport faces acute peak-
ing problems as a result of ever-rising demand in the face of dwin-
dling production. Combine with these is the rate and devastation
effect of climate change and it’s impacts. Nonetheless, ensuring ad-
equate, affordable, and reliable service in energy sector with less
negative effects on the environment has not only been important
for Kenya but also vital for a lot of countries especially in Africa
that are struggling to achieve their daily demand of energy [1,2].
∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: mohammed.takase@ucc.edu.gh (M. Takase).
Africa (SSA) that are still in energy crisis and socio-economic
deficit that cannot be disputed. Accessibility to modern and renew-
able energy for a long time has been considered to be a privileged
in Kenya. Furthermore, it is among countries in SSA that are ranked
least in relation to annual growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
as well as contemporary developmental strides. Globally, SSA re-
gion is the most undeveloped among the sub-regions in the world
and has huge number of rural settlements which is scattered. Be-
cause of the nature of rural settlement which is scattered, it results
in the region being weak technologically and economically to the
development of its power sector of which Kenya can not be left
out [1–3].
Energy demand in Kenya is overgrowing just as population in-
crease as well as growth in the economy. Kenyan Government’s
program of Vision 2030 has put forward ambitious plans for fu-
ture economic growth with hopes of making Kenya ‘s economy to
be a middle-income by 2030 [1,2,4]. The major problem facing the
country is the lack of investment in power production and its re-
liance on hydroelectric power. Kenyan companies are faced with

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfueco.2021.10 0 015
2666-0520/© 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
power outages which amounts to loss of an average of 6.3 million
Kenyan shillings in a single month. Every downtime takes around
five hours. Per the World Bank estimates, such distractions cost
businesses 7.1% decrease in overall sales [3]. Kenya Power Company
maintains a website called Power Alert which alert users during
the expected shutdowns [3,5].
During power outages, the user’s entity supplies come from
Emergency Power Suppliers (EPPs). Generators for obtaining power
for EPPs are usually medium-speed diesel (MSD) power plants
(heavy fuel oil) or high-speed diesel (car gas oil) plants. The price
of this personal energy consumption is high. EPPs presently make
significant contribution of more than 30% of productive capacity to
energy costs from such plants (varying from US dollar 26–36 cents
for every unit) [5,6].
In 2013, Kenyan Government officiated an ambitious strategy of
increasing productive generation of power from 1664 MW to more
than 50 0 0 MW towards the ending of the year 2017 in order to ad-
dress the energy demand and supply gap. The achievement of the
goal is not yet realised. The share of electricity obtained through
renewable energy sources was expected to fall from 66% in 2017 to
below 50% when fully implemented. The remainder is to be pro-
duced primarily through natural gas, thermal and nuclear power
stations [4]. The program was contrary to Kenya’s Plan of National
Agreed Commitments (INDCs) and Kenya’s National Climate Action
Strategy. The aim of the program was to increase Keny Kenya’s
production of electricity from geothermal, solar, and wind sources
[6,7].
The aim of this review is to contribute to the knowledge on en-
ergy resources by examining the potential energy resources from
renewable and nonrenewable sources and their present state of ex-
ploitation in Kenya. Demand for energy in Kenya is on the rise
along side, increase in population. This results into the country
spending a lot of money on importation of the petroleum fuel.
Moreover, petroleum product is obtained from fossils fuel which
are not renewable and environmentally sustainable. The review
also seeks to explore other sustainable sources of renewable en-
ergies which are available in Kenya such including biofuel, wind,
solar, geothermal and so on.
This review also highlights Kenyan energy mix which is made
up of hydropower energy potential. It further highlight on other re-
newable energy resources such as geothermal, biomass, wood fuel
and charcoal, biogas, biofuels, wind, solar, and municipal waste as
well as contribution of the renewable energy sector. The review
also highlight on challenges in accessing energy, Kenya’s policies
in addressing energy challenges. It finally tourches on the future
outlook of energy sector in Kenya.
1.1. Geographical and socio-economic information of Kenya
Kenya lies within the coastal side of Eastern Africa. It falls
within the equator and borders Somalia to the eastern side, shares
the border with Ethiopia to the northern, and northwestern part is
Sudan and to the western side is Uganda. The southwest bound-
ary of Kenya is Lake Victoria while to the southern part is Moun-
tain Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, whereas the Indian Ocean is south-
eastern. Kenya has a landmass of 582,646 km2 and is number 47
in world’s ranking of sizes of countries [8]. Many areas of Kenya
experience tropical weather, but the temperature stays reasonably
dry with an average of about 22 ◦ C yearly. It is moderately hot and
wet in the south and temperate inland, but very cold in the north-
ern and northeastern parts of the country. Many areas of Kenya en-
counter an equatorial climate, particularly in the highlands of cen-
tral regions. There is however, abundant sunlight throughout the
year, although it is cold in the evening and early mornings. Be-
tween February to March, it is hot while from July to August is the
2
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
coldest months. Mean annual temperature for Mombasa City (17 m
altitude) is 30 ◦ C at maximum and a low of 22. ◦ C [9,10].
The coolest time is between February and March while the
coldest month is between July to August. On average, the annual
temperature in the coastal city of Kenya; Mombasa (which is an
altitude 17 m) is 30 °C on the highest and 22.4 °C on the lowest.
Nairobi which is the capital city (located at an altitude 1661 m) has
a temperature of 25.5 °C on a maximum and 13.6 °C on the min-
imum. Eldoret which is in altitude 2133 experiences highest tem-
perature of 23.6 °C on the highest and 10.6 °C on the lowest. Lod-
war is on altitude 506 m and has the dry northern plains. Lodwar
has highest temperature of 35.5 °C and 24.3 °C being the lowest
temperature. There is significant rainfall between April to June and
limited rain of between October and December [9,10,11].
The Great Rift Valley distinguishes Kenyan highlands from the
eastern and western where Mount Kenya is located. The highlands
have favourable environmental conditions for arable crop produc-
tion where both major and smallholder farming takes place. Main
cash crops in Kenya include tea, coffee, pyrethrum, wheat, and
maize. Livestock farming is doing well as well. Surrounding the
Basin of the Lake Victoria is the Kano plains which are ideal for
irrigation farming. Northern Kenya is clear and dry and domest
animals constitutes the primary activity of land usage but a wide
range of food crops do very well by irrigation [10,8].
Kenya’s economy in East Africa is the most advanced. It serves
as the centre for economy, commercial and logistics for the whole
East African countries. The economy mainly relies on agriculture,
which accounts for almost 24% of the entire GDP. 18% of wage
jobs are in both agriculture and agro-based industries. Table 1 dis-
plays a few of leading economic and social indicators. The life ex-
pectancy at birth has been included in Table 1 because energy has
an effect of the general health of human life. Depending on the
form of energy being used, the health of a person is either ham-
pered or kept healthy which eventually affects the number of years
the person lives [12,13].
2. Energy status
2.1. Kenyan energy scenario
The main control of energy market in Kenya is oil and electric
power together. Wood used for fuel supply the primary require-
ments of energy in remote areas, low-income urban dwellers and
informal market. The national energy review indicates a strong re-
liance on wood for fuel as well as biomass in addition, accounting
for 68 percent of overall consumption of energy (oil is accounted
for by 22%, electricity is accounted for by 9%, others 1%) [12,13].
Electricity penetration in Kenya is weak given the government’s
optimistic goal of increasing connections of electricity from 15% to
at least 65% by 2022 [14].
Kenya has a 2.3 GW installed capacity. While almost 57% is hy-
dropower, close to 32% is thermal r and the remaining is geother-
mal and emergency thermal power. Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) and
wind power perform small function, adding not more than 1%. Al-
though, power generated from hydro varied between 38% and 76%
in the generation mix because of low precipitation [15,16]. The
use of the thermal energy sources is to meet the deficit, fluctu-
ating from 16 to 33% of the blend. Kenya currently deployed (grid-
connected) electricity power amounting to 1429 MW. The primary
source of energy is obtained from hydro power and fossil fuel. The
production energy mix includes 52.1% of hydro, 32.5% of the fuel
from the fossil, 13.2% is through geothermal, 1.8% of biogas gen-
eration, and 0.4% of wind. As at 2014 the country’s demand for
electricity was 1600 MW and was expected to increase to 2600–
3600 MWMegawatts (MW) by 2020 [4,16].
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015

Table 1
Economic and social indicators of Kenya [12].

Indicator Unit 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Population Million 47.88 49.05 50.22 51.39 52.57

Electricity GWh 9514.6 10,057.7 10,359.9 11,182.0 11,620.7
consumption
Petroleum 0000 5489.4 5999.0 6347.7 6114.4 6439.6
consumption tonnes
GDP USD 64.01 69.19 78.97 87.78 95.5
(billion)
GDP growth rate % 5.7 5.9 4.7 6.3 5.4
GDP per capita USD 1336.88 1410.53 1572.34 1707.99 1816.55
Total Energy 000Toe 7826.4 8053.2 8410.1 8702.3 8854.0
consumption
Energy Kgoe 298 422 501 436 259
consumption per
capita
Life expectancy at Years 64.80 65.39 65.91 66.34 66.44
birth

Table 2
Generation mix- December 2019 [20,4].

Generation type 2019

MW % contribution

Hydro 837 29
Geothermal 823 28
Solar 95 3
Wind 336 11
Bioenergy 88 3
Total Renewable 2178 74
Non-Renewable 750 26
Total Capacity MW 2929 100

2.2. Kenyan’s current energy mix

Kenyan plan of power generating capacity in 2019 stands at
2929 MW. The geothermal energy proportion rose in the year 2013
from 14.8% and reach 28% in 2019- that notably led to the re-
duction on the dependency on hydroelectric power plants. The re-
cently developed capacity is made up of 4.65 MW at the off-grid
stations. Nevertheless, after the expansion of grid to Hola, Mpeke-
toni, Garissa, and Lamu, there will be no off-grid power decom-
missioning [17–19]. According to the data presented in the Table 2
below, renewable energy only contributes 74% of the current en-
ergy mix.
The government has devised a generation extension program
that has enabled Kenya to installed 5098 MW of the new capac-
ity of energy generation between July 2013 and December 2016
(50 0 0 + MW IN 40 MONTHS POWER TO TRANSFORM the KENYA
Republic of Kenya, 2016). However, this has been postponed and
is only expected to attained its completion by 2020–2021. The en-
tire network capacity of generation based on the projection was to
reach 6670 MW by 2021 (in absence of slippage during the dates
of completion for dedicated projects). Renewable fuels was to pro-
vide less than 50% of electricity following the completion of this
project [21,22] (Fig. 1).
3. Non renewable energy sources
3.1. Fossil fuels
Kenya do not have known amount of commercial oil and coal
as well as natural gas deposits, although the process of exploration
is underway. Consequently, the entire specifications belonging to
such fuels are obtained through import. Fossils fuels whose com-
ponent is petroleum oil is being imported as finished goods or in
form of crude oil for refining locally [23].
Fig. 1. Power balancing upon completion of the 50 0 0 + MW plant [21].
3.2. Forms of petroleum
Kenya doesn’t have any oil reserves but depends solely on for-
eign oil products, whether processed or crude. But exploration of
the oil has been carried out for decades in the coastal and as well
as the northern eastern region of Kenya. Imports from Petroleum
accounts for 36% of the overall billion of imports in 2008 and ac-
counts for 55% of the export earnings through the Kenya’s foreign
exchange [24,25]. Different oil products needed for final use are
primarily in the shipping, industrial and commercial sectors; lique-
fied petroleum gas (LPG), Kerosene, jet/turbo fuel, natural gasoline,
diesel, fuel oil, and lubricating oils and greases. Use of oil products
was 3.28 Mtoe in 2008 of which retail stores as well as road trans-
port are responsible for the most significant expenditure. Many of
the LPG are manufactured in the Kenya Petroleum Refineries lo-
cated in Mombasa. LPG is used in villages particularly in rural lo-
cations together with firewood, whereas in urban places it replaces
electricity. On average per year, rural areas intake for the LPG is
3.6 kg while in urban areas is 9.7 kg. Moreover, the national per
household in every year is 5.3 kg. A fundamental explanation of
reduced usage is the expensive LPG powered appliances. Issues as-
sociated with goods transportation and the facilities that are used
for storage often render it inaccessible in several areas of the coun-
try particularly, in rural areas [26].
Currently, 92% of all households use Kerosene of which 94% are
in rural areas while 89% are in urban areas;, mostly used in light-
ing purposes. Average consumption per annum in urban as well as
in the rural households is about 90 litres and 41 litres, respectively.
Most families in the urban areas uses Kerosene in preparation of

3
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015

Table 3
Existing hydropower stations [23,27].

Station River No of Rating Installed Suppliers Year Age Remaining

located units Perunit Capacity(MW) installed economic life
(years)

Kindaruma Tana 2 20 40 AEI/Boving 1968 40 10

Kamburu 1 and 2 Tana 2 31.4 62.8 Litostroj/Rade 1974 34 16
Koncar
Kamburu 3 Tana 1 31.4 314 Siemens/Voith 1976 32 18
Gitaru Tana 2 72.5 145 1978 30 20
Gitaru Unit 3 Tana 2 80 80 1999 9 41
Masinga Tana 2 20 40 BBC/Escher 1981 27 23
WYSS
Kiambere Tana 2 72 144 Marine 1988 20 30
Industries Ltd
Turkwel Turkwel 2 53 106 Neyrpic/Alshom 1991 17 33
Jeumont
Sondu Sondu 2 30 60 Toshiba/Mitsui 2008 <1 50
Total 16 709.2

Table 4
Existing geothermal plants in Kenya [33, 34].

Facility Operator Place Number of units Ratings per unit Installed capacity Year installed

Olkaria I KenGen Olkaria 3 15 45 1981

Olkaria II KenGen Olkaria 2 35 70 2003
Olkaria III Orpower 4 Olkaria 1 13 13 2000
Olkaria III Orpower 4 Olkaria 3 12 35 2008
163

food and this accounts for higher urban consumption relative to
rural households [27,28].
In attempts to minimize deforestation associated with high fuel
consumption, Kerosene is excluded from individual taxes relative
to all other petroleum products. But reduced manufacturing and
retail services throughout remote areas have contributed to high
point-ups, rendering this service costly, given the tax-free status.
Jet/turbo fuels are a commodity that are market-specific close to
Kerosene in nature though, it has a greater degree of purity which
prevents emissions. Yearly usage in recent times has also been rel-
atively stable at around 340,0 0 0 tonnes [26,29].
3.3. Coal
There are no known reserves of coal which can be used for
commercial purposes in Kenya and meeting all its requirement
has been through importation. Exploration was carried out in Mui
Basin Districts of Kitui and Mwingi and Taru Basin in Kwale Dis-
trict. Introductory results are promising, though much further re-
search needs to be done. From 2007, 10 wells were drilled in the
Mui Basin with positive findings suggesting the potential presence
of industrial volumes of gas. A 1050 MW coal-fired power gener-
ating plant was proposed to be established in Lamu- the northern
coast of Kenya which is along the Indian Ocean. This is part of the
Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport Corridor (LAPSSET)
project which links the three countries. Any of the exploration of
coal in the world would help to relieve the burden on the pay-
ments balance resulting from importing petroleum. The task is to
leverage adequate money to enable the discovery of coal [30].
4. Renewable energy sources and current status of exploitation
4.1. Hydropower energy potential
Hydropower is Kenya’s single largest electricity generation
source supplying at least 677 MW of the entire capacity of the
installed grid. From 2007, hydro-generation plant with capacity
of 60 MW was being constructed at Sondu Miriu with additional
20 MW to would have completed in 2008 as was scheduled. Except
for Turkwel Gorge (Rift Valley) and Sondu Miriu (Victoria Lake),
some of the 470 MW or equivalence of 70% of the entire building
of hydropower is based on either the Tana River alone which is an
indication of over-reliance [24].
The large -scale of production of hydro power is expected to
reach 1500 MW, from that of 1310 MW which can be possibly
be used for projects that have capability of 30 MW as minimum.
Out of these, 434 MW were found in the Lake Victoria basin while
264 MW was found in Rift Valley basin. Athi River basin had 604
MW which was located in the Tana River basin. 146 MW was found
in Ewaso Ngiro North River basin. The estimated cost of production
for these sites implies exemption from Least Expensive Power Sup-
ply Program [25,26].
Relatively, micro-hydroelectric system that are mini and small
(with a capacity of below 10 MW) are expected to produce
30 0 0 MW across the region. In 1997, Kenya’s Electric Power Act
authorized separate producers of powers to provide electricity to
national grid but limited decentralized systems for example micro-
hydro have not been completely discussed. Listed as lucrative com-
mercial opportunities are approximately 55 river sites ideal for ru-
ral electrification. Their maximum total output will be between
50 kW and 700 kW [31,32].
By December 2014, built hydroelectric production potential had
reached 821 MW which is equal to 38% of the overall genera-
tion capability. The expectation of potential for hydropower (above
10 MW) was minimum of 5605 GWh/yr. The hydroelectric power
generation potential areas are in five location of geographical re-
gions which represents major drainage basins in Kenya. The areas
include Lake Victoria which produces 295 MW, Rift Valley with ca-
pacity of 345 MW, Athi River (84 MW), Tana River (800 MW), and
Ewaso Ng’ iro North River that can produce 146 MW [33].
4.2. Geothermal resources
Geothermal energy is plenty in Kenya [34]. Broad possible
sources occur across the Rift Valley which divides the country;
beginning from northern to southern part (Fig. 4). The central

4
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Table 5
Various forest biomass sources and estimated annual yields [35].
Source Approx. size (ha)
Closed forest 1247,400
Woodlands 2092,600
Bushlands 24,629,400
Wooded grasslands 10,600,000
Grassland 1203,500
Farmlands 10,000,000
Forest Plantation 91,000
Fig. 2. Part of Olkaria III (the first privately financed and built geothermal plant in
Africa) [34].
Fig. 3. Geothermal power stations (Olkaria II (70 MW) [34].
part of the Kenyan Rift Valley can produce about 70 0 0 MW and
10,0 0 0 MW. The places under study comprise Suswa, Baringo,
Menengai, Eburru, Korosi, Lake Bogoria Longonot, Olkaria, and Paka
[33-35].
The 50 0 0 + MW system is planned to generate 887 MW of
geothermal energy to be mined from the areas of Olkaria, Menen-
gai, Baringo, Suswa, Longonot and Akiira. The planned schemes
include the development of maximum 400 geothermal wells to
be built by different companies such as KenGen, Geothermal De-
velopment Company (GDC), African Geothermal International Lim-
ited (AGIL) and Marine Power Generation (MPG) [36]. Kenya pro-
duced 411 MW of geothermal capacity in the national grid between
2013 and 2017. As of today, an average of 652 MW of power from
geothermal energy is produced (Fig. 2 and 4 Table 5) [34,17].
4.3. Biomass resources
Biomass fuel supplies are obtained from habitat systems like
enclosed forests, woodlands, bushlands, grasslands, farmlands,
plantations and agricultural and industrial residues which include
wood fuel (firewood and charcoal) and crop residues [39,40].
Biomass resources are extracted in Kenya through locked wood-
lands, bushlands, forests fields, plantations, industrial residues and
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
Annualproductivity Approximate annual Accessibility (%)
(M3 /ha/year) yield (Million m3 )
1.3 1.60 5
0.64 1.30 30
0.44 10.84 30
0.25 2.60 30
0.08 0.096 10
1.44 14.40 90
19.9 2.70 35
agricultural. Table 5 shows the various wood biomass outlets and
the estimated yield per year. In relation to surface area, Kenya is
protected with trees close to 2% of that contain approximately 45%
of biomass energy supplies including forest waste [35–37]. The re-
maining balance is derived from agriculture which is in the form
of forest biomass [40].
4.4. Wood fuel and charcoal
Biomass from wood is the most significant energy from primary
sources for consumption in Kenya contributing to 74% of the coun-
try’s entire primary energy supplies [38,39]. Based on the detailed
study conducted in 2002, the market for wood fuel in 2000 was
34.3 million tonnes compared with projected stable surplus of 15
million tonnes indicating more than 56% of the shortfall. The esti-
mated deficit is actually 60%. It was projected that the market for
wood fuel grew by 2.7% per year while sustainable production de-
creased by 0.6% per year [38,40].
In 20 0 0, the annual total use of firewood for rural and urban
areas combined reached 3394 kg per household and 2701 kg per
household respectively. The related per capita intake was 741 kg
and 691 kg accordingly. A key factor for wood product consump-
tion is population increase, lack of accessibility to renewable en-
ergy alternatives and growing rate of malnutrition within the pop-
ulation. The demand and supply of the wood energy causes imbal-
ances in a place tremendous strain on the residual timber and crop
supplies; worsening land depletion processes. Also, energy pro-
duced from biomass poses a challenge of competing for land us-
age in terms of agriculture, forestry and settlement of people and
many others [41,42].
Despite that, charcoal is a useful resource for urban residents
in particular. Nevertheless, its growth is linked with rising levels
of deforestation. About 47% of Kenyan homes are using charcoal as
a source of energy, 82% use charcoal in urban residences while 34%
use charcoal in rural households. In total, the intake of industrial
charcoal in 20 0 0 was 156 and 152 kg in every unit used by rural
and urban residents. Amount of the gross output of the charcoal
used in 2015 was calculated at 2.4 million tons (or equivalence of
67 million bags of 36 kg each) [41,43].
Secure management of charcoal sector remains one of the most
significant issues facing Kenyan government [44]. The strengthened
stove system launched during 1980s within the auspices of the
Kenyan Ministry of Energy as a way to conserve fuelwood resulted
to the production of improved ceramic carbon stoves which was
commonly known as Kenya Ceramic Jiko (KCJ) (Fig. 5). The partic-
ular stoves have spread widely and are on use in Kenya [45].
4.5. Use of biogas
Generation of biogas is from anaerobic process by fermenta-
tion of biomass and waste that has not been treated. The gases
produced comprises methane that is flammable and which can be
used to produce heat or electricity. None of the specific details can
5
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Fig. 4. Kenya’s detailed Geological Map showing concentrations of geothermal fields and prospects [34].
Fig. 5. Improved charcoal stoves [46].
be found on the prospects for biogas in Kenya. Nonetheless, Fe-
lix and Kai [49] measured the technological capacity of household
biogas systems as 1,25 million in the households. The technical ca-
pacity was identified to be the number of homes with specific re-
quirements for proper supply of manure and water. The capacity
is much higher if certain forms of wastes are considered and this
include industrial waste [50].
White settler farmers developed biogas extraction in Kenya in
the mid-1950s. In the beginning, two forms of biogas systems were
introduced: rotating drum (Indian digester) and static dome (Chi-
nese digester). Thereafter in the 1990s, a small-cost Tubular Plastic
(TP) bio-digester developed in Colombia and launched was com-
monly marketed, particularly in the western region of Kenya [51].
In such an attempt to increase knowledge and usage of biogas and
rising fuelwood demand, the Ministry of Energy has been demon-
strating biogas processing technologies throughout the country un-
til the early part of 1980s. Many charities including religious orga-
nizations have been directly engaged in the distribution and ad-
vancement of biogas science. Given its possible importance, the
rate of penetration of biogas production in Kenya is still shallow.
To date, almost 1392 of the family biogas plants (10 m3 ) have also
been built, with each generating a total of about 1.2 m3 of biogas
6
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
on a daily basis [52]. Nonetheless, as per the Intermediate Tech-
nology Development Group (ITDG) (now named Practical Action),
nearly 1100 biogas systems are in service in Kenya [53,54]. The gas
is mostly used for heating and to a lesser extent, used for lighting
[50].
The widespread adoption of biogas systems has been slow
down due absence of enough information on the production as
well as potential benefits. The major challenges that were reported
include reduction in maintenance, poor design resulting in gas
pressure problems, high cost of maintenance and lack of strong
technical support [45,29].
4.6. Biofuels
Liquid biofuels are energy that are in liquid form and this has
plant material as a derivative. Kenya has a high possibility of man-
ufacturing bioethanol and biodiesel. Ethanol is an alcohol produced
from fermentation of the sugar components of plant materials usu-
ally from crops that contains sugar and starch in them. While
biodiesel is synthesize using transesterification process using oils
or fat and the quality of biodiesel is same as the mineral diesel.
Such fuels are degradable and contain fewer harmful emissions
and greenhouse gasses than petroleum containing fuels. A study on
feasibility of biofuels has recently been undertaken and the oppor-
tunities and problems that faces the biofuel production in Kenya
have been discovered [48,49].
Cassava, sugarcane and sweet sorghum have been established
as possible feedstuff for ethanol while castor, coconut, cotton, cro-
ton, Jatropha, rapeseed and sunflower are potentially sustainable
non-feed stuffs for biodiesel. Research carried out at the Jomo
Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology on yellow ole-
ander (Thevetia peruviana) seeds have seen to be a possible source
of bio-diesel [48] using yellow oleander plant originated in Peru,
South America. The plant grows well in the province of Nyanza in
Kenya. It is a seasonal crop tolerant to a shortage of rain and needs
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Fig. 6. Jatropha seeds and plant [47–49].
Fig. 7. Kenya Jatropha energy pilot project in Dakatcha woodlands [48,49].
Fig. 8. Kenya’s first wind farm in Ngong Hills [48].
minimal effort in the process of cultivating the field with the pos-
sibility of producing 20% of the oil for seeds. Additional advantages
of this plant comprise the following: is the best source of nectar
used for making honey because it’s can flower in the entire period
of the year, is the source of firewood fuel used as source of mate-
rial for making furniture while its cake is useful in feeding animal
and as a source of manure.
The interest in biodiesel has been revived due to the cost of
the oil as per past years and currently Jatropha caucus plant is
under study in nurseries and farms in various dry areas of Kenya
(Fig. 6) [55]. There is tremendous enthusiasm shown by the gov-
ernment of Kenya in the production of biodiesel and put aside
50 0,0 0 0 acres of land for growing Jatropha. The preparation of the
draft strategy document for the biofuel was prepared and it pro-
7
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
poses 3% biodiesel blending to reduce 5% importation of the fossils
fuel within the next four years [56].
The beautiful yellow fruit of Jatropha is toxic but its seeds have
an oil content of 37%. It has been in Africa for centuries and is now
commonly found in semi-arid lands in the dryer portion of Africa.
It grows naturally in Kenya in the bushlands and along rivers in the
southern, western, and coastal regions at 0–1650 m. In the 1990s,
Mali was among the first nations to carry out research on use of
biodiesel produced from Jatropha oil in diesel as a green fuel. The
project was through collaboration with German Technical Cooper-
ation (GTZ) Collaboration Initiative [51].
However, it is only lately that using Jatropha to produce
biodiesel feedstock is being promoted actively through private
companies, NGOs and aid agencies. Nonetheless, issues have
emerged that the value to cost ratio of the crop as well as the
gross margins are not sufficient and producing biofuel using Jat-
ropha seed oil do not have capacity to compete with petroleum-
based fuels [57].
But other outlets have also been productive. Vehicles are being
driven using bio-diesel which is produced from a project in Naro-
moru near Nanyuki Town through a self-help and is presently gen-
erating more than 10 0 0 litres of biofuel per day from local croton,
cape chestnut and castor seeds. Farmers have also increased profits
and better their standard of living [58].
The technological development of biofuels has arisen mixed re-
actions that has a bearing on sustainability. Those who oppose it
have insisted on the interference with the traditional function of
crops and feedstock by using it to produce biofuel and as well di-
version of resources such as land to grow crops for biodiesel pro-
duction. Proponents are in favour of using idle factors of produc-
tion for example land and labour [58]. The technology of devel-
oping biofuel has resulted in different reactions which has an ef-
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Fig. 9. Wind speed map of Kenya at 100 m height above ground level [48].
Fig. 10. Annual total of hourly Direct Natural Irradiation (DNI) for Kenya (20 0 0–
2002 averaged) [4,10].
fect on the sustainability. Those who opposes it are insisting on the
original functions of the crops and the feedstock which are appli-
cable in producing biofuel. Those who support the development of
biodiesel support using the idle factors of production for example
land and labour.
4.7. Municipal waste
Municipal waste may be used in creation of methane gas that
can generate electricity. Turning of waste to energy undergoes an
8
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
advanced process which is applied in different regions of the globe.
Nairobi which is Kenya’s capital city generates a total of 803,0 0 0
tons of solid waste which is produced and dumped annually at the
Dandora Dump Site. Mombasa, Nakuru and Kisumu are the main
cities after Nairobi and they generate 1124 million tonnes. An over-
all of 5.26 million tons per year are estimated to be produced in
urban areas across Kenya [59]. Municipal waste hasn’t been used
for electricity storage and is instead dispose of by open burning.
4.8. Wind energy potential
Because Kenya is located in the equator region, strong winds
are also not expected. Though, several places in Kenya currently
have considerable capacity for wind energy due to its diverse topo-
graphical characteristics, differing surface areas and large freshwa-
ter lakes [60]. Kenya has one of Africa’s most abundant and most
observed wind power potentials [17]. In 2013, the Kenyan Govern-
ment ordered the Wind Force to perform a national climate evalua-
tion. The result shows that more than 73% of the country has more
than 6 m/s of annual mean wind speed at 100 m above ground
floor (Fig. 8) [17].
The first 5.1 MW wind farm started service in Ngong Hills out-
side Nairobi in August 2009. A government loan from Belgium
funded it. These consist of six turbines (height 49 m) with a ca-
pacity of 850 kW [48].
There are three wind farm sites in Kenya; two of which are in
Ngong run by KenGen that has a combined capacity of generating
5.45 MW of energy and another one located in Marsabit run by
Kenya Power with a cumulative output of 0.55 MW. Supplemen-
tary wind farms which have a capacity of producing 625 MW are
expected (Table 6).
The government’s emphasis on wind energy quickly drew pri-
vate investors’ attention. Throughout Ngong Hills for example,
Vestas- Danish firm has currently installed six 50 m turbines which
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Table 6
Potential wind farms/plants Source: Kenya national power development plan (2019) [48].
Number Name of firm
1 Aeolous Kinangop Wind
2 Aeolous Ngong Wind
3 Aperture Green Wind
4 Daewoo Ngong Wind
5 KenGen Wind
6 Lake Turkana Wind Power Station
7 Osiwo Ngong Wind
8 Meru
9 Isiolo
10 Ngong Hill Wind Farm
11 Marsabit
Total
have contributed 5.1 MW to the national grid since August 2009.
Some other dozen turbine is to be fixed shortly. The Dutch group
behind the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project has leased
66,0 0 0 hectares on the eastern side of the world’s biggest and per-
manent desert lake to make investment in wind power generation
[58].
4.9. Solar energy
Kenya is a country that is situated close to the equator and has
an excellent potential for utilizing solar energy with an average of
4–6 KWH/M2 /day. Almost 1.2% of homes in Kenya are using solar
energy, mainly for lighting and charging television sets. Solar en-
ergy is not yet economically used however, due to increasing oil
prices and environmental issues, solar energy becomes alternative
option that will perform a key role to fulfill global demand for en-
ergy [61]. Kenya gets high rates of solar insolation and the majority
of the northern and northeastern regions are solar hot spots. Kenya
has a solar energy capacity of 4–6 kWh/m2 /day, equal to 250 mil-
lion tons of oil per day [56,28]. The country has high solar output
levels with a total of 5 h of peak sunshine (the same hours per day
during season when solar irradiance exceeds 10 0 0 W/m2 ). The es-
timated yearly energy generation is estimated to be from 700 kWh
in mountainous places to 2650 kWh in places that are arid and
semi-arid areas (Fig. 10).
Solar driven cooling is also possible in utilization of solar en-
ergy, particularly in rural places where electricity is not from the
grid. ISAAC photo voltaic-powered ice makers have recently been
installed in two rural villages on the Kenyan coast. The ISAAC ice
maker uses sporadic ammonia/water through absorption refrigera-
tion technology and works fully in absence electricity SSS [4,10].
5. Contribution of renewable energy
Renewable energy has positive contribution through address-
ing the issue of the climate and problems which are related to
the environment. For example, biodiesel has potential of reducing
amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted to the atmosphere.
This is because of the minimal emission of the greenhouses gases
as compared to the fossil’s fuels. Biodiesel development also leads
to creation of jobs which improved the standard of living. This is
because in Kenya and in Africa in general, women have responsi-
bility to secure energy as well as the water in their households in
addition to doing majority of the work in the farm. Commercial-
izing some of the energy form such as biodiesel can help liberate
women from the economic burdens and labour which are toilsome.
And hence making them financially independent [63].
9
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
Status Capacity (MW)
Existed before 2013 60
Existed before 2013 100
Existed before 2013 60
Existed before 2013 30
Existed before 2013 15
Commissioned 2019 310
Existed before 2013 60
Planned 100
Commissioned in July 2013 150
Commissioned 2013–2016 25
Feasibility ongoing 50
900
6. Challenges to development of renewable energy
In spite of the challenges that possibly slowdown the rise in
the development of renewable sources of energy, there are other
factors which includes technological, economic and environmen-
tal challenges which impede the new developments on commer-
cialization of renewable resources such as the biodiesel, solar and
among others [63].
6.1. Technological challenges
Even though there is huge advancement in technology over the
past decades, there is existence of many technical barriers to adopt
the technology. The quality of systems used is crucial in the inte-
gration. For example, photo voltaic solar systems (PV). Absence of
sufficient knowledge is a serious challenge which is likely to cause
poor usage and lack of the capacity in maintaining the systems.
Furthermore, lack of energy storage system especially for some en-
ergy renewable technology has been identified as large technolog-
ical challenge for solar energy. However, Kenya is relying on huge
reservoirs which supply hydroelectric power. A PV- based pumped
storage hydropower can be of huge flexibility in terms of solv-
ing the variability of residual production (the difference between
demand and non-dispatchable power production). There are few
available experts as well as the skilled manpower for some of the
renewable energy sources such as biodiesel. This could hinder it
progress and entrance into the market. This is largely because of
movement of well-trained professional from developing countries
to the industrialized countries [64].
6.2. Economic challenges
The unwillingness of the majority of the banks in Kenya to fund
technological investment in some forms of renewable energy gen-
eration has been a serious main economic challenge. Most of the
financial institutions tends to perceive renewable energy genera-
tion as risky venture due to the high rates of cost incurred in
construction of generation plant. Solar energy sector has been ad-
versely affected by this challenge. This perception makes it difficult
to justify the investment even if the prices of solar PV have re-
duced to a reasonable level over the years. Making cost comparison
of energy from renewable source and those from non -renewable
for example fossils fuels to electricity has been most significant
challenge in adopting some of the renewable energy generation. In
providing the solution to this challenge, Kenya has endeavored to
levelized the cost of energy through combination of non-renewable
energy together with renewable energy generation technologies. In
this regard, the cost of energy becomes cheaper and accessible to
the majority of the households [4].
Use of large-scale production of crop for energy is a major is-
sue in several developing nations. Challenges arises when fertile
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
lands are used for the production of energy crops rather than the
crops meant for human consumption. There is existence of blurred
boundary among energy and agriculture sector in some African
countries and therefore, becoming a problem when people are
compelled to invest. This happened in Kenya, when Energy Africa
Ltd, began to introduce jatropha among the poor farmers. With the
faster decline of the yield of the crop, rendered many farmers eco-
nomically poor and hence starvation of families [65].
6.3. Environmental challenges
Forest cover in Kenya is approximately 6%. Huge part of these
forest resources cannot be access easily because of environmental
restrictions. The demand for fuel wood is estimated to be 35 mil-
lion tonnes per year against the supply of 15 million tonnes per
year which the country provide. The extremely huge deficit in sup-
ply has triggered increase in the rate of deforestation of both the
exotic and the indigenous vegetation. This has resulted in the neg-
ative environmental impact such as famine, drought, land degra-
dation, desertification and many others. An effort has been car-
ried out with the aim of reducing these challenges. The Govern-
ment of Kenya through a collaboration together with other devel-
opment partners have come up with the programme ‘‘Promotion
of Improved Energy Stoves’’ which began in the January 2006. Al-
though, majority of the population are still utilizing firewood for
cooking. Greater than 80% of the population are using traditional
three stone technology for cooking [66].
6.4. Renewable energy policies
Different nations globally have the unique national policies on
renewable energy. Some of these policies are not mature because
of the way they are being implemented. A lot of policies have been
designed by various countries but because of the political instabil-
ities is some regions it makes it hard to carry out implementation
them. Policy issues are considered as main challenge in accessing
the finance and development of the market [67].
In various countries in the SSA, there are different number of
policy actions that have come up which favour consumption of re-
newable energy. In certain instances, the policy mechanisms have
undergone structuring of directly, integrating renewable energy ap-
plication into power sector with the aim of enhancing the supply
of power, reliability, security and availability via phenomena of the
clean development mechanism [68].
Many government agencies in various countries have been
formed to formulate policies and regulate the energy sector in
both private organization and corporate bodies in order to assist in
boosting the interest in renewable energy and reduce the reliance
on non- renewable energy especially fossil fuel. Example of these
agencies include Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RE&EE)
Working Group which is under the Department of Energy’s Of-
fice Efficiency and Renewable Energy in the United States of Amer-
ica. While in Africa, among the government regulatory bodies in-
clde Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Energy Commission of
Ghana, Ghana Energy Development and Access Project (GEDAP),
Capacity Building Project in Energy Efficiency and Renewable En-
ergy (CaBEERE) in South Africa. The bodies are responsible for en-
ergy policy reforms and implementation which favour exploitation
of renewable energy through the application of current technolo-
gies. Though policies on renewable energy have been poorly imple-
mented and there is likelihood of not attaining the mark on use of
sustainable energy sources especially among the SSA as envisaged
in Vision 2030 [69].
Ministry of Energy in Kenya is responsible for the development
and implementation of energy policies for the regulation of energy
10
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
sector players for ensuring safety and efficiency during the con-
servation and utilization of energy. In the previous years, Ministry
of Energy has come up with different policies and regulations fo-
cusing on promotion of priorities of government specifically with
the intention of creation of enabling environment for the growth
of private sector in raising the access and coverage of energy sup-
ply and advancement of renewable energy. In Kenya, the National
Energy Policy is an overall policy document which took effect in
2004. It is made up of all particular measures undertaken by the
state with the aim of encouraging the use of renewable energy [3].
The inclusive objective of the National Energy Policy in Kenya
is for ensuring sustainability, adequacy, affordability, competitive-
ness and reliability supply of energy at the minimum cost which
is aimed at meeting national and county requirements at the same
time protection and conservation of environment. Other renewable
energy policies and legislation in Kenya include The Energy Act No.
12 of the 2006, Geothermal Resources Act No. 12 of 1982 and many
others [70].
The policy on the energy of Kenya is driven by Session Paper
No. 4 of the year 2004 on energy as well as the act of 2006 on
Energy Act. Kenyan Constitution was also promulgated in August
2010 and it encourages the security and freedom in the sector of
energy in order to ensure generation and protection of the environ-
ment. There is simplification of policies and the Act for integration
of aspiration of the Constitution [71].
Traditionally, renewable energy sources have been marketed to
satisfy rising demand. Yet poverty rates and the existence of hu-
man communities and scattered societies indicate that they have
not been able to deal with household demand for renewable en-
ergy. This is the reason Kenyan National Energy Policy acknowl-
edges the wide benefits of energy from renewable sources such as
the capacity for producing energy including job production, diver-
sifying energy supply and benefits to the environmental. Hence-
forth, the national energy strategy now contains policies to en-
courage the input of clean energy in the production of electric-
ity. According to National Energy Policy, government is allowed to
conduct pre-feasibility and feasibility research in relation to the
promise of green renewable energy technology (RET) and the la-
belling and data distribution on the techniques in order to improve
on its investment and awareness on the market [71].
7. Future outlook and suggestions
Energy is a crucial component in every country’s socio-
economic stability and industrial growth. Dependable and sustain-
able energy sources are necessary to satisfy human needs includ-
ing, heating, lighting, safe drinking water, education and commu-
nication, among others. Kenyan Government has established 2030
Kenya Vision as the nation’s latest growth plan for the time up
to 2030. The program aims to turn Kenya into a newly developed
middle-income country that offers a good quality of life for all its
population. The strategy also seeks to reach a sustainable average
economic growth of economy of 10% per year over the coming 20
years [48].
Consumption energy, specifically commercial energy continues
to vary in similar trend as the growth of economy. That’s rele-
vant for Kenya in which actual GDP for the years has continued
to shift in the similar direction as consumption of commercial en-
ergy [72]. Fig. 11 shows the projected demand for electricity up to
2030, predicated on the three possible economic growth situations
(reference, low and high) presented in the Vision 2030. The low
growth forecast for example, indicates that electricity consumption
will increase by 2020 and will also be six-folds the current rate
by 2030. In comparison there is a similar a rise in demand for
petroleum fuels and that of electricity [28,58,73–75].
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
Fig. 11. Energy consumption projection for Kenya: Small Scenario, Comparison, and
Strong Scenario 2008–2030 [76].
Considering the energy situation currently, several challenges
and weaknesses are affecting the supply of energy in Kenya. These
problems include limitation to access to advanced energy, high
pressure on biomass supplies, rising energy prices, higher demand
for electricity than the capability of building more generation ca-
pacity and the inability of Kenya Power and Lighting Company
(KPLC) to link every consumers who wishes to purchase consid-
erable amount of rural electrification by grid development due to
dispersion [59,60]. This demands form joint efforts by the state
and all partners to resolve such problems to maintain a sufficient
and cost-effective energy supply for economic development includ-
ing enhancing the quality of life of people, while acknowledging a
need to preserve and maintain the atmosphere [61,62].
Among other considerations to be weighed are electricity pro-
curement choices, energy production prices, capacity/availability
considerations and environmental impacts. Other critical consid-
erations are sustainability and potential to build employment for
the growing population. Provided the ample existence of geother-
mal sources in Kenya, geothermal energy is expected to be the de-
sired contributor to the main load capacity. It is valuable in regards
to the cost, high capacity/accessibility factors and close zero emis-
sions mainly if conventional closed cycles are used in re-injection
of the water back to the earth’s crust [48]. Geothermal plants have
huge capital expenditures required in discovery, drilling of well
and construction of plant, though the amount of operational are
small. The decision of government to take up the costs involved
in the exploring and drilling of geothermal wells will maintain the
electricity tariff low. This can be possible if the prices are also not
passed on to the user. Reduced power tariffs are supposed to be
incentives to the investors, especially in the manufacturing sector
[4,28].
As far as hydropower supplies are concerned, they will con-
tinue to have a baseload, possible growth prospects as well as
some challenges. That is because competition for water supply to
other uses is rising exponentially. This includes horticulture and
other agricultural activities that depends on irrigation, increasing
the number of people and increasing need for water supply for
domestic and industrial purposes. The water resources have be-
come inaccessible in the coming years than they were in the ear-
lier days. Depending on river flows, as the primary source of en-
ergy production, is dangerous because in effect, it relies on cli-
mate and weather changes that are often erratic and sometimes
uncontrollable. Steps can therefore, can be taken towards preserv-
ing the river water supplies including the conservation of adequate
forested areas to secure runoff, soil erosion management systems
in catchment areas to reduce the risk of siltation in dams [48].
Wind energy also performs a more critical role in energy mix
of a region. However, the problem that is supposed to be tackled
11
Fuel Communications 7 (2021) 100015
is the weak efficiency level for wind power. Because wind cannot
blow 100% all the time, the grid has to withstand its volatility. To-
day, few grid networks access more than 5% of wind electricity in-
cluding Denmark (with over 19%), Spain and Portugal (with over
10%), Germany and the Republic of Ireland (over 6%) [28,64,65]. A
higher percentage of wind energy is likely to create issues in the
maintenance of the grid and would also require high reserve out-
put [77].
Several interests in biodiesel have come up across the globe
in recent times due to its potential in stimulation of economic
growth, reduction of carbon-dioxide emission and improvement of
the environment as well as reduction in dependency on the im-
ported fuel [78,79]. There are enormous prospects for the produc-
tion of biodiesel in Kenya. Approximately 80% of the Kenyan land
is made up of arid and semi-arid land where some of the feedstock
used for biodiesel for example Jatropha can grow without compro-
mising the country’s food supply. The latter give an opportunity to
reduce dependency on high cost foreign oil, create far-needed jobs,
and enhanced the economy, particularly for farmers [28,66].
In connection to biomass, there has been a reoccurrence in in-
terest in energy obtained from biomass in the current years as its
viewed as a carbon-neutral alternative relative to the net carbon-
emitting fossil fuels which are believed to contribute to climate
change. Many adverse effects connected to the use of biomass have
been established. These are intensive labour in searching, cutting
and transporting of wood, usually by women and girls. The emis-
sion of incomplete particulates such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen,
sulfur oxides, and also particulate matter; and health consequences
of particulate matter which leads to chronic respiratory problems
were identified as major cause of illness in Kenya and other devel-
oping countries [28,67].
More investment is needed in research and development of
advanced biomass stoves to increase performance and reduction
of indoor air pollution. Alternatively, in spite of the Kenya’s high
biomass shortfall, it is important to boost accessibility to LPG as
an option to biomass by introducing effective anti-poor policies
[80,81].
In relation to the solar energy, current capacity is immense and
will perform a more significant function in the production of elec-
tricity for some time. Moreover, locations with maximum radia-
tion from sun are found in arid places with inadequate agriculture
capacity. They have a few numbers of people, making it possible
to support big solar systems like PV as well as concentrated solar
thermal, and many others. While the unit price of solar energy is
still expensive, it is expected that there will be a decline and thus
economical possible [28,68]. Research, creation, and demonstration
programs are therefore required to increase knowledge regarding
all technical aspects and non-technical aspects of the technological
advancement [48].
8. Conclusion
Energy consumption in Kenya is still reliant on non-renewable
sources mainly petroleum fuel. The use of the petroleum fuel in-
creases the level of emission of greenhouse gases which causes
global warming and hence climate change. Considering the rate at
which fossil fuels are depleted globally and negative consequences
of release of greenhouse gases making use of sustainable and re-
newable energy sources becomes inevitable. Even though Kenya
has made use and utilize the renewable energy, the application
of the renewable energy in generating power is still very mini-
mal. Taking into account the natural environment of Kenya coupled
with its geographical features it is endowed with the prospects
of renewable energy sources for example from geothermal, solar,
biomass, wind and hydro. With this potential of utilization of re-
newable energy, the government is focusing its attention towards
M. Takase, R. Kipkoech and P.K. Essandoh
harnessing it. Huge stride has been taken in promoting the use of
renewable energy such as formulation of policies and regulations
for example, National Energy Policy, 2006 Act on Energy and many
others. Despite all these efforts, it has not yielded substantial re-
sults. A well planned and driven effort should be employed by all
the stakeholders in public sector, non-governmental organization
and the citizen to promote and encourage the use of renewable
energy in order to achieve sustainable development.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgement
The authors wish to acknowledge ACADEMY Project, Ref.
No.:2017-3052/001-001.
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