KenGen awarded East Africa’s Best Sustainable Power Producer prize

Access to energy is critical to the development and growth of a nation. Energy is the key in sustenance of all economies. It is an enabler to a better society as where there is a deficit in supply of energy then the economic growth is affected and consequently livelihood deteriorates. Goal 13 of the Sustainable Development Goals emphasizes on the urgent need of climate action. This means that to rapidly reduce carbon emissions and also respond to the highly negative impact of climate change there is a strong push towards production of renewable energy. Increase in energy promotes economic diversification and value chain development. Accelerating access to energy in remote areas and addressing the challenge of geographically complex terrain will aid in making expansion of access to renewable energy sources a development imperative. In Africa, today, one in three people don’t have access to electricity, they often to resort to using kerosene else spend hours in darkness. Almost 87% of people without electricity reside at the rural areas. Those who do have electricity often find it unreliable or expensive. Africa has a unique potential to scale up energy access in order to modernize agriculture; rekindle industrialization; increase jobs; and reduce poverty and reduce exclusion. Due to the geographic landscape of African countries, particularly rural communities, access to the national grid is very difficult and expensive. Cost-effective renewable energy, therefore, becomes the most effective solution to rural electrification in Africa. This solution unleashes the productive capacity of around two-thirds of the population of many African countries, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. Renewable energy offers the potential to quickly transform agricultural value addition, create decent jobs, mitigate the impact of climate change, improve the delivery of education and health care services, as well as transform livelihoods and living conditions in remote and rural communities. Despite the declining cost of producing renewable energy, renewable energy resources remain largely untapped in Africa. Among those leading in efforts towards the exploration of renewable energy sources in the continent is East Africa's top power generating company, KenGen. Over the last few years, KenGen continues to provide insights on energy generation to various countries in Africa. Through their expertise, they have offered technical support in the region towards the exploration of renewable energy - with main focus put on geothermal energy production. Earlier this year, KenGen won East Africa’s Best Sustainable Power Producer prize in the 2018 Capital Finance International Awards for its deliberate focus on renewable energy – which accounts for 84 percent of the company’s power sources. While receiving it, Managing Director Rebecca Miano said the award recognized the company's efforts to enhance renewable energy sources for the country and the continent in general.