Kenya has announced plans to set up various power plants in Meru County as part of the county’s plan to boost business and provide electricity to all residents by 2040. This will guide the county’s development for the next 20 years.
According to the county’s Vision 2040 blueprint, the main goal in the energy sector is to improve access to clean and sustainable energy by investing in a good mix of energy sources such as wind and solar, as well as investing in underground cabling power distribution infrastructure.
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Vision 2040 blueprint
The document which has been under development over the past two years was recently launched by the County Governor Kiraitu Murungi at the Kenya Methodist University (KeMU). It provides the road map for development through four pillars: economic, political, social and enablers, with a projected annual growth of 15%.
The project entails construction of solar and wind power plants under public-private partnerships to ensure that there is enough energy to drive development projects. There are also plans to revamp the various airstrips and build railway lines linking Meru and other counties to ease transport and link the agriculturally-rich region with markets throughout the country.
“Infrastructure is a critical anchor of development. The strategic objective is to accelerate productivity and profitability of all sectors through access to sustainable and affordable infrastructure for the purpose of realizing the overall vision,” said the governor.
Over 70% of Kenya’s electricity is generated from renewable clean energy sources. Of these, geothermal remains the most significant source as the country focuses on increasing geothermal capacity and weaning off thermal sources.
