Kenya is building 136 mini-solar grids in remote areas where the country’s main electricity grid doesn’t reach well enough, the country’s energy minister said on Monday.
Off-grid solar power has become more popular in Africa in the past few years for homes that don’t have access to a main power grid. This trend has been driven by start-ups.
The World Bank says that there are now more than 3,000 mini-grids in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2010, there were only 500. The bank says that another 9,000 are planned, some of which will be built in Kenya.
At an event put on by the World Bank, Energy Secretary Davis Chirchir said, “The national grid has not yet reached some parts of the country.”
The World Bank is paying for the new solar mini-grids as part of a $150 million project.
The grids get their power from batteries and backup generators instead of from the main national grids.
Kenya gets most of its electricity from renewable sources like hydropower and geothermal power. However, after years of drought, it is running dozens of diesel generators. Chirchir said that the government has gotten money from development partners to replace diesel-powered units with ones that are cheaper and last longer.
The World Bank says that solar energy could power 380 million people in sub-Saharan Africa by 2030. This is because there is a lot of sunlight there.
