KIPEVU I DIESEL PLANT SET TO BE DECOMMISSIONED IN KENYA

Mombasa’s Kipevu I Diesel Plant will be decommissioned once its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) lapses at the end of 2023.

Its 60 MW capacity will be replaced by energy generated from renewable sources, says the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) in its latest report on the energy sector.

The biannual report released today, for the period ending June 2023, puts the renewable energy contribution at 84.65 percent of the total installed capacity of 3,311MW.

“The share of renewables in the energy mix is expected to rise following the expiration of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Kipevu Diesel Plant I in Mombasa which has been operational since 2003,” EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria said.

“Additionally, the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is developing steam fields in the Baringo-Silali geothermal fields with an expected output of 300MW in the first phase,” he added.

Iberafrica Power Plant whose 56 MW contract expired in October 2019 was the first one to be decommissioned followed by Tsavo Power with a capacity to generate 74MW whose licence expired in September 2021.

Thermal Plants under Independent Power Producers (IPPs) have been largely blamed for the high cost of electricity in the country, with the government prioritising investments in renewable power that is clean, cheaper and generated from local sources.

According to the report, geothermal energy production surged by 21.84 percent, while energy generation from interconnected solar PV systems saw a substantial 41.84 percent increase with wind energy contributing 7.28 percent more compared to the previous financial year.

The development, he said, deepens prospects of a viable regional power trading activity once the Kenya-Tanzania 400kV interconnector is commissioned.

The arrangement allows Kenya to trade electricity with its neighbours thereby ensuring the energy deficit in one country is met with the energy surplus generated in a neighbouring country.