Kenya's 2nd Largest Resource

Our largest resource is our well educated, literate and skilled population. Our 2nd? For me, its the almost guaranteed 12 hr sunlight. At the moment, KenGen is struggling to keep up with the demand for electricity and only meets the 15% continuity gap required between demand and supply. To this extent, its looking at getting an additional 1,000MW from the geothermal project to add to the 1,200MW it gets from hydroelectric and outsourcing. Still,

1. with our economy projected to double in size every 10yrs, i.e. double electivity demand
2. Rural electrification project underway and whose effect on demand has not been quantified
3. population growth not slowing down
   

demand will soon outstrip supply.

Hence the need to bring solar energy into national energy policy. I'd envisage that the easiest and more efficient way to institute the policy would be to concentrate
on consumer rather than industrial demand. A few years back when I was planning to build in chags, I was quoted Ksh50,000 for
solar panels to electrify a 3-bed house. That might be out of reach for most Kenyans, but I believe there is where a national policy
would come in inform subsidies, tax breaks where imports are required and even promotion of
solar farms. As a matter of urgency, GoK should require all new houses being built to be solar powered
(or at least, to have certain mw being produced by installed solar panels). It can then systematically require
other properties to install solar panels to produce given mw.

 Already seeing the opportunity, a Chinese company is 
buidling a factory to manufacture solar panels in Kenya. Other articles on the same, by Afromusing and BDA.