Kenya's Energy Landscape

With its diverse energy mix, free enterprise economy and preferential trade access to growing regional markets, Kenya is characterised by increasing investment potential and is Africa's number one country for human capital quality and innovation. (International Monetary Fund, World Economic Forum)

Kenya is on a path to becoming an upper middle-income country with both income and life expectancy increasing over the first two decades of the millennium (McKinsey Global Institute)

Kenya is a regional leader in clean energy development with over half of its on-grid electricity derived from geothermal sources and more than 80%  from renewable sources including hydro, wind, and solar power. (Investment Monitor, Rapid Transition.)

Kenya is Africa’s first country to build geothermal plants. Part of an abundant inter-continental ridge system, its Great Rift Valley is the world’s seventh top producer of geothermal energy. (Climate Adaptation Platform)

Kenya’s electrification rates have increased exponentially over the last decade with 94% in urban areas and 71.4% overall. (Enerdata, Energy & Utilities)

Kenya’s Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) updated in 2022 aims to triple the country’s geothermal energy production and double its hydro capacity by 2041. (Ministry of Energy and Petroleum)

In Q1 2023, Kenya’s cabinet removed a suspension on the licensing of new independent power producers (IPPs) thereby reprioritising FDI in the grid to boost the country’s generation capacity. (SPA Global) 

In Q3 2023 the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the USA and the Government of Kenya signed a $60 million Kenya threshold program agreement designed to improve urban connectivity and promote economic growth in Kenya. (US Embassy in Kenya)

During Africa’s first ever Climate Summit hosted in Nairobi, Kenya’s President Willaim Ruto emphasised the country’s lucrative energy opportunities and their propensity to provide good long-term returns.

A raft of geothermal plant project deals signed in 2023 included one costing US$108m by UK power producer Globeleq that is part of a broader UKKenya green investment plan. (Economist Intelligence Unit)