Posted on :Thursday , 30th May 2024

Approved to establish a 42.5 MW solar facility at the Seven Forks Hydro Stations in Eastern Kenya, KenGen is looking to increase its generating capacity.  

The business anticipates that the solar photovoltaic (PV) plant will increase revenue diversity and optimize space for value addition around its current hydropower projects.

It will be erected on an 80-hectare KenGen-owned plot of undeveloped land. The company claims that the land is perfect for development because it has a high solar irradiation of more than 2,000kWh/m2.  The Seven-Fork Solar PV project will harness the power of the sun during the day to create electricity and store water at the dams for use in producing electricity at night.

"The project's construction phase will soon be commissioned, as all approvals have been finalized," a statement from Peter Njenga, managing director of KenGen, stated.  According to Mr. Njenga, the project will boost the amount of power added to the national grid while guaranteeing a steady flow of electricity to spur economic growth.  

The company's redesigned corporate strategy, which aims to add 3,000MW to the national grid during the next ten years, includes the proposed solar facility.  As a result, the nation's installed generating capacity will increase to 6,000MW.  

“This is one of our most important stations at KenGen at the moment, as it carries the promise of our growth at a time when capacity expansion seemed impossible,” Mr Njenga said.

The executive added that KenGen is capitalizing on the ongoing rains to expand hydropower generation to ensure a greater availability of electricity for Kenyans.  

“We have increased our hydroelectricity generation at Sondu and Sangoro power stations as well as Turkwel due to the increased rainfall,” Mr Njenga said.

The project is being undertaken at a time when investors are looking to take advantage of Kenya's advantageous equatorial location to maximize sun exposure for increased energy production, as the nation's potential to generate solar power is at a record high.  

Presently, Kenya has four 40 MW solar facilities that produce renewable energy to the national grid: Malindi, Cedate, Selenkei, and Alten (Kesses). A tiny quantity of electricity is also added to the grid by the 0.3 MW solar plant at Strathmore University.