IED Invest - Mbakaou Hydropower Plant Project in Cameroon

IED Invest is proud to present the teaser of its latest flagship project, the Mbakaou Hydropower Plant in Cameroon, now in the exploitation phase.

Thousands of Cameroonians in the Tibati agglomeration in Adamawa are now benefiting from cheap, green, stable and quality electricity. A replicable project...

Thanks to all our partners: MINEE of Cameroun, European Commission ARSEL, AER, Eneo Cameroon S.A.  BGFIBank Cameroon #electricite #developpementdurable #afrique #energierenouvelable

 

TAKING STOCK OF THE SUSTAINABLE ENERGY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT IN KENYA

seta1

During the launch of the SETA project in Meru County, European Union Delegation, National energy authorities, and members of SETA project’s Team

Background

Kenya is the epicenter of Africa’s energy transition. The government has an ambitious development blueprint, Vision 2030, which aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialized middle-income country, especially, to boost manufacturing and job creation. Vision 2030 recognizes energy as a key enabler of the socio-economic pillar, as the third national Medium Plan 2017-2022. Furthermore, the vision for the National Energy Policy 2018 is “affordable quality energy for all Kenyans”. Its objective is to ensure affordable, competitive, sustainable and reliable supply of energy at the least cost to achieve national development needs, while protecting and conserving environment.

Despite this legislative mandate, only 4 of the 47 counties have been able to develop energy plans. Various factors have been cited as reasons behind these shortcomings, including but not limited to: data inadequacies, such as insufficient or poor-quality data on levels of access and data on the energy needs of end users. Other challenges include technical capacity gaps within county governments and lack of adequate resources to develop energy plans. 

It is with the above in mind that the Institutional Capacity Development to the Sustainable Energy Sector in Kenya project was born, (hereafter referred to as the Sustainable Energy Technical Assistance Project (“SETA”)).

The Sustainable Energy Technical Assistance Project

SETA is a three-years (2020-2023) EU funded project of the Ministry of Energy whose objective is to provide institutional capacity development support for the sustainable energy sector in Kenya. SETA was born in the wake of the Sustainable Energy for All Action Agenda and investment prospectus, and was conceived to contribute to its implementation in Kenya.

The purpose of the project is to provide institutional and other support to public and private stakeholders of the Kenyan energy sector in the identification, planning and implementation of renewable energy, energy access and energy efficiency projects.

This ground breaking initiative in Kenya is being implemented by IED, in partnership with Loughborough University, Practical Action Consulting (PAC), IIED and ACTS.

Key achievements to date

Basic Training Programme

A Basic Training Programme (BTP) targeting all 47 counties was undertaken in August and September, 2021. The BTP was an introductory package targeting the county energy departments and selected sectoral departments of all the 47 counties. It intended to build an understanding of the energy development benefits and the added value of inclusive and integrated planning approaches.

Through this programme, 235 county officials were trained on key enabling policies including: SE4All Action Agenda, Energy Act 2019, Gender Policy (2019), Kenya National Energy Efficiency and Conservation (2020), Bioenergy Strategy (2021) and the Integrated National Energy Planning (INEP) framework and regulations (draft). Furthermore, participants were trained on the types of data and data analysis tools needed to optimise and develop new county energy plans.

Advanced Training Programme

Currently, the project is at the Advanced Training Phase (ATP), where 12 of the 47 counties that underwent the Basic Training Phase have been selected for support.

The ATP aims at building more in-depth knowledge in the participant counties on inclusive and integrated planning approaches. Furthermore, the ATP shall provide more hands-on technical support in the preparation of investment ready and implementable County Energy Plans.

Other key achievements

SETA has supported the Ministry of Energy in building capacity for policy and strategy implementation. Currently SETA has supported with the implementation of the bioenergy, energy efficiency and clean cooking strategies. SETA has also made significant strides in the implementation of the gender policy.

seta2

County participants being trained on the Gender Policy, 2019 in Muranga County

Furthermore, through the project, discussions around developing a better data access and governance framework have begun with the hopes shifting the course of data governance in the Kenyan energy sector.

SETA has targeted its efforts to building and bettering the Private Sector and Civil Society Organization interactions and engagements with the public energy sector, including Ministries and State Agencies.

Look out for more updates on the SETA project on our website!

Release of the new version 5 of the NAP Transport Network Analysis and Planning software in June 2022.

NAP (Network Analysis and Planning) is a complete software for the analysis and planning of transmission power grids (MV and HV). Widely used for load flow studies, short-circuit calculation and incident simulation, it makes it possible to carry out network analyses and plan new extensions (transport master plan, power plant interconnection study, etc.). 

The new version 5 (published in 2022) is now available and offers a new data management completely modernized with new capabilities for capturing and visualizing networks in single-line mixed mode and cartographic (GIS).

NAP

NAP 5 also integrates new renewable energy generators (solar and intermittent wind) and storage modules in an optimized way for more detailed grid analyses and meet current requirements. Its new automatic calculation engine also makes it possible to compare different scenarios and identify the most appropriate solution in the case of a transport network extension study.

Software to download in one click, NAP 5 uses the latest technologies to provide planners and decision-makers fast professional results through a modern and user-friendly interface.

The NAP 2022 version can now be tested for free on our Download Page.

Success story in Kenya : The Green Mini Grid Facility (GMG)

The Green Mini Grid Facility (GMG) is a Grant Program established in Kenya in 2016 funded by UK Aid (DfID) with 9.1M GBP and European Union Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (EU-AITF) with 5,6M Euro. The mini grids contribute towards Kenya’s National Electrification Strategy to provide universal access to modern energy. 

 GMG1

Powergen mini grid in tea estate in Kericho county

The Facility is implemented by the Agence Française de Developpement (AFD) and the management of the program is contracted to IED in partnership with Practical Action Consultants and I-DEV, bringing in social economic and financial expertise.

 GMG3

Powerhive mini grid in Kisii county

GMG has provided Technical Assistance and grant support to private developers investing in the design, construction, and operation of green mini grids in Kenya. IED has supported the preparation of the grant agreements and their implementation, with support of an Independent Verification Agent. The programme also involve private developers including Powerhive, PowerGen, RVE Sol and Renewvia.

 GMG4

REV Sol village in Busia

By mid 2022 just over 60 sites in different counties in Kenya in the western and northern regions were constructed with over 13,000 connections. All mini grids are solar powered with a total of 2100 kWp installed and 6800 kWh battery storage, initially lead acid but the new sites all use the lithium type. Developers have been active in stimulating the uptake of electricity for chicken breeding, water pumping, milling, e-cooking and e-vehicles. The Mini-grids contribute locally to provide stable energy and develop income generating activities enhancing people life. Thus it is a successful program in terms of models proven and people reached: an extension of the GMG is currently under preparation to complete the program and add about 20 new sites and 5,000 connections and that means many more income generating activities prospects upcoming!

GMG5 

RVE sol mini grid station in Busia county

For more info, visit www.gmgfacilitykenya.org