Kenya Power Urges Caution While Onboarding Wind, Solar Energy Sources to the Grid

Kenya Power, state-owned electricity distributor, has urged for the need to have a careful balance in onboarding Solar and Wind Power generation sources (Wind and Solar) to mitigate their impact on the grid.

The Utility firm said the intermittency of these energy sources affects the reliability and quality of power supply due to their impact on frequency and voltage of the power supplied.

Currently, Wind and Solar Energy account for 34% of Kenya’s total energy mix during the day peak demand of 1900MW, and 36% during low load demand of 1200MW.

This exposes the national grid to system vulnerability when wind and solar suddenly dip or rise in production, forcing the grid to take on other generation sources to cushion against generation gaps.

Kenya Power said there is need for prioritization of grid stability and consideration of all additional costs required to supplement variable sources while onboarding power generation, to mitigate against power outages and safeguard the quality and cost of electricity paid by consumers.

“Global benchmarks point to a limit of 15% of the grid’s total firm capacity limit for wind and solar energy. Our current system under the take or pay model of power purchase has led to an increase in wind and solar energy to over 20% against a recommended average of 15%. Given the intermittent nature of wind and solar, we have no option but to dispatch and pay for generators, increasing the overall cost of power,” said Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO, Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror.

He made these remarks during a press briefing on the State of Kenya’s Power Grid, this Tuesday, at Sarova Stanley Hotel, Nairobi.

Kenya Power plan to deal with electricity supply interruptions

Presently, Kenya Power dispatches extra generation plants at extra costs to mitigate against the collapse of the grid when wind and solar energy generation suddenly dip or rise in production – a common occurrence – which ultimately increases the cost paid by final consumers.

“For solar and wind power, the recommendation is to have battery storage systems. However, they would still face a challenge in charging the batteries when the wind and solar dip. The true cost of wind and solar is its own cost and the additional power that we pay for to stabilise the grid. Therefore, investments in geothermal and hydro offer greater grid stability and ensure the grid can recover and remain productive when wind and solar sources are unavailable,” said Dr. (Eng.) Siror.

Compared to other countries, Kenya has the highest dependence on wind and solar energy in the region.

Within the Eastern Africa Power Pool for example, Egypt’s wind and solar energy quantum stands at 10.4%, Ethiopia 5.3%, Uganda 4% and Tanzania 1.2%.

Kenya’s current baseload power is made up of geothermal, hydro, power imports, and thermal, which currently account for 80% of the grid’s energy mix.

Kenya Power has advised for an increase in baseload generation which is more stable and less susceptible to dips in production.

New Power to be Uploaded to the Grid

The new baseload sources set to be introduced to the grid include KenGen – Olkaria 1- 61 MW, KenGen Olkaria 7- 80MW, Globeleq Menengai 35 MW, Orpower 22 Menengai 35 MW, EEP – Ethiopia (Ethiopia imports) 200 MW, Paka Silali (GDC – fully drilled) – 100MW and Nabuyole – 28 MW.

Additionally, plans to raise the Masinga Dam level by 1.5 metres is set to increase energy generation output by 83GWh per year.

Other baseload generation projects in the pipeline include the planned LNG Power Plant (proposed to commence at 300MW), the High Grand falls 700MW and Karura Falls 90 MW.