Kenya “Off-Grid Photovoltaic Action”

    A few days ago, the Kenya Power Company announced that the traditional Solar Electric power purchase model for industrial and commercial users was severely impacted by the rapid development of distributed photovoltaics. A large number of industrial and commercial power users began to install rooftop photovoltaic systems for self-generation and self-use of electricity, and the sales revenue of power companies fell by more than half.

    In fact, not only the industrial and commercial sectors, but also the photovoltaic installations of ordinary household users are also rising simultaneously. At present, the Kenyan "Off-Grid Photovoltaic Action" led by the Kenyan Ministry of Energy has been implemented for nearly four years. This project aims to provide electricity protection for about 1.3 million households in large areas of northeast and northern Kenya that cannot be covered by the public grid in Kenya.

    According to the Kenya National Energy Efficiency and Energy Conservation Strategy issued by the Kenyan Ministry of Energy in 2020, as of the end of 2019, about 19.3% of houses nationwide in Kenya were installed with photovoltaic power generation systems, equivalent to about 2.3 million specific users. Especially in rural areas, the coverage rate of photovoltaic power generation systems reached 29.9%, while the coverage rate of the public grid during the same period was only 26%.

    "According to current electricity prices and investment calculations, the payback period of a solar power generation system is about 4 years. Based on the calculation of stable operation for 20 years, the electricity for the next 16 years will be free." Near Lake Naivasha, Kenya Patrick Mbugua, a flower farmer, installed a 154-kilowatt small photovoltaic power generation system on his farm. "Thanks to this photovoltaic power station, we are no longer completely dependent on the expensive public grid, and can achieve spontaneous self-use during certain periods."

    Compared with the traditional public grid, the low electricity cost of distributed photovoltaics has become a key factor in attracting users: the 506 kilowatt solar photovoltaic power generation project installed by a Kenyan logistics company saved the company about 12 million shillings (about 720,000 yuan); the distributed photovoltaic system installed on the sun visor of the parking lot of the Kenya Garden City Shopping Center has an annual power generation of 1256 MWh, which can save 31.6 million shillings (about 190 Ten thousand yuan). Kenya Tea Development Co., Ltd. plans to build photovoltaic power generation systems in its 29 factories, which is expected to help the tea factory cut electricity expenditures by nearly 50%.