A 40MW solar plant in Makueni County is set to be constructed in a bid to boost generation of more electricity in the region.Currently the County 5.9 percent of electricity but with the new solar plant, they will be able to generate up to 40 percent and this is according to the vision 2025 plan.
Plans are also underway to expand area covered by irrigation schemes to 10,000 hectares through the use of existing upgrades and major latest plans and this initiative is bound to benefit the residents in the County which is predominantly dependent on agriculture with 78 percent of households relying on it for income.
“Makueni County is planning to construct six major dams, each 10 million cubic meters, one for each sub- county complete with treatment plants, storage and distribution network,” the county confirmed.
Each dam will then have a capacity to serve 5,000 homes and apart from that serve a minimum irrigation area of 5,000 hectares. Apart from that, the County government intends to divide the county into five economic zones that will see different areas serve different purposes. For example, Wote town which is the capital of Makueni County will serve as the administrative centre while Makindu town will be the cultural zone. Mtito Andei will be the hospitality and the education centre, Emali and Sultan Hamud towns the industrial zones while Konza Techno City in Malili will remain as the ICT hub.
The new photovoltaic facility is projected to be constructed in Kavuko in Kilome sub-county and it is anticipated to eventually be connected to the national grid.
The renewable energy sector in Kenya is among the most vibrant in Africa. Kenya is Africa’s first geothermal power producer and the world leader in the number of solar power systems installed per capita. It is still the largest producer of geothermal power in Africa today at 200MW with only Ethiopia as the other African country producing geothermal power. Connectivity to the national grid in Kenya currently stands at 28%.
