Kenya to generate over half of its electricity through solar power by 2016
Source: The Guardian
Kenya to generate over half of its electricity through solar power by 2016
Gitonga Njeru
theguardian.com, Friday 17 January 2014 14.19 GMT
Kenya has identified nine sites to build solar power plants that could provide more than half the country's electricity by 2016.
Construction of the plants, expected to cost $1.2bn (£73m), is set to begin this year and initial design stages are almost complete. The partnership between government and private companies will see the state contributing about 50% of the cost.
Cliff Owiti, a senior administrator at the Kenya Renewable Energy Association, said the move will protect the environment and bring down electricity costs. "We hope that when the entire project is completed by 2016, more than 50% of Kenya's energy production will consist of solar. Already we are witnessing solar investments in Kenya such as a factory that was opened here in 2011 that manufactures solar energy panels."
He said that over $500m had already been invested in solar projects in Kenya. "The costs related with hydro electricity are very high, considering they are influenced by the low water levels in major supply dams. With high investments in solar, we will witness almost no blackouts and power charges will reduce because electricity will be in high supply."
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/17/kenya-solar-power-plants
= new reply since forum marked as read
I've heard repeatedly here on DUEE that solar is only for rich yuppies, and foregoing massive commitment to nuclear is dooming the world's poor to abject and everlasting energy poverty.
It's obvious the Kenyan's are secretly in league with and being subsidized in this "greenie" publicity stunt by the likes of Shell petroleum, Gazprom and the companies mining the tar sands in Canada.
Yes, it is 
