KENYA OUT TO EMBRACE OFF-GRID LIGHTING SYSTEMS

KENYA OUT TO EMBRACE OFF-GRID LIGHTING SYSTEMS

BY ROBERT ONSARE

The University of Nairobi in collaboration with the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) are mooting to work on an off-grid project dubbed as Lighting Africa.

Lighting Africa is a World Bank initiative aimed at providing 250 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa access to non-fossil fuel based lighting that is low-cost, safe and reliable by the year 2030.

This project will address the lighting needs of rural, urban and peri-urban low income earners without access to electricity, says James Wafula, a renewable energy don at the University of Nairobi, Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (INST).

“In 2008/2009 IFC/WB implemented a 4-month survey as part of the on going research in five Sub Africa countries - a run up to the Lighting Africa project,” Wafula says, “these countries were Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Zambia.” The research looked into: value chain of modern lighting products, distribution network analysis, and a country profile on each of the country mentioned.

Research by the IFC reveals that in rural Africa electricity access can be as low as of 2 per cent. Here in Kenya the Kenya Power and Lighting Cooperation (KPLC), chief manager, on Planning, Research and Performance Monitoring says electricity connectivity is 15 per cent – comprising of 43 percent urban and 3.8 per cent rural.

Fuel Lighting

Annual expenditure on fuel based lighting is estimated to be US $ 38 billion while US $ 185 for grid based lighting with Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 50 per cent of the expenditure on fuel based lighting. 23.7 per cent of the population in Kenya use Kerosene wick lamps “Kuruboi” which translates into an estimated 1.8 million households. The IFC survey further reveals that 52.7 per cent of households use hurricane which translates into 3.9 million households.

Kerosene Use in Kenya

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) assessment report says that 92 per cent of Kenyan households use kerosene with each household spending an average of Ksh 7,000 annually on kerosene. A solar lantern costs between Ksh 1,300 to Ksh 4,000. Ksh 7,000 will be saved over two year’s period using solar lantern instead of a Kerosene lamp.

“It is estimated that Ksh 4-6 Billion is spent annually on fuel based lighting,” the don says, “with the poorer members of the population purchasing kerosene in very small quantities and paying a price which is two-three times higher of the market price per little.”

In a baseline study carried out in Nyanza province, less than 1 per cent of the over 900 houses surveyed have access to electricity with the Kuroboi being the most prevalent type of lighting source.

Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Research reveals that one kilowatt hour (Kwh) of electricity generate (from fuel based generator) 610g of carbon dioxide emissions. 40 watts incandescent bulb when on for 10 hours per day generate 89 kg of carbon dioxide every year. While13 watts Light Emitting Diode (LED) will be responsible for 29kg of carbon dioxide every year. Thus by exchanging incandescent bulb for a LEDs or Compact Florescent Light (CFL) carbon emissions will be reduced by 68 per cent.

Potential Adopters of LEDs

In a baseline survey carried out under the millennium village project of Sauri in Nyanza province a variety of LED lighting products were found to be available on the market. Potential adopters of LED lighting technology include: micro-enterprises that operate at night (estimated to be hundreds of thousands across the country), un-electrified households and schools.

Lighting Technology Available Locally

Rechargeable flashlights are entering African markets in large numbers. Most of these products use low cost LEDs and small sealed lead acid ( SLA ) batteries. They are available locally at a price ranging from Ksh 150 to Ksh 300 in local shops. These products have a mixed record with respect to quality.

KPLC is currently in the process of phasing out incandescent lamps with CFL lamps in selected regions of the country. This project is designed to eventually cover the whole country. The USA will phase them out by 2014 in their country while Brazil has already phased them out.

As Kenya marches forward to embrace off-grid lighting the University of Nairobi, INST will soon be equipped with equipment and facilities that will enable it to carry out quick screening of LEDs coming to the country to a certain their quality before being released to the market in an agreement with Kenya Bureau of Standards (KBS) .