afrol News, 24 November - Kenyan authorities have declared an end to future power shortages in the east African state, saying the government will move into solar, wind and geothermal power generation to put an end to blackouts.

The Energy minister, Kiraitu Murungi, said new rules on power management will soon be gazzetted to force all buildings within the city and other major towns to install solar water heaters.

The minister’s statement comes less than two months after the end of a severe power rationing scheme following reduced water levels in the hydropower generating firms due to long droughts.

He said the government had reduced the exploration and project costs in the generation of geothermal energy in a bid to attract them into the field.

Geothermal wells are expensive to sink with one costing approximately Sh490 million ($6.5milion) thus the need for the involvement of the private sector he noted.

“It has also been difficult to attract private sector investments in geothermal due to the extremely high front end costs,” he said.

To facilitate and deepen private sector participation, the ministry will from December install 33 wind masts and data loggers to collect data at various sites across the country to augment the information contained in the Ministry of Energy’s current Wind Atlas.

“The data which will be collected will be analysed and the reports given to the private sector to assist in making investment decisions on the size and timing of investment,” he said.

A feed in tariff policy for geothermal would also be developed which would be ascertained by the cost capital, Mr Murungi added.

Reliable energy supply has been touted as one of the key ingredients in the march towards a middle-level economy, as envisioned in the country’s development roadmap, Kenya Vision 2030.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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