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Kenya Power Favors Geothermal, Hydro Over Variable Renewables for Grid Stability

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Rising wind and solar generation could strain Kenya's power grid and increase electricity costs as variable renewable energy penetration grows, Kenya Power said Tuesday.

Variable renewable energy sources accounted for 34% of the energy mix during peak demand of 1,900 megawatts and 36% during low demand of 1,200 MW.

Kenya Power said sudden changes in wind and solar output can affect power frequency and voltage, forcing the grid to bring in other generation sources to balance supply.

The company urged authorities to prioritize grid stability and account for the additional costs of supporting variable generation to reduce outage risks and protect electricity quality and consumer costs.

"Global benchmarks point to a limit of 15% of the grid's total firm capacity limit for VRE. Our current system under the take-or-pay model of power purchase has led to an increase in VREs to over 20%," said Kenya Power's Managing Director and CEO Joseph Siror.

Siror added that the intermittent nature of wind and solar forces the company to dispatch additional generators and incur extra costs when output changes.

The company currently uses extra generation plants to cushion the grid when variable renewable energy output suddenly rises or falls, adding costs that ultimately reach final consumers.

Siror said battery storage can support variable renewable energy, but charging the batteries remains challenging when wind and solar output falls, limiting their ability to address intermittency.

"Therefore, investments in geothermal and hydro offer greater grid stability and ensure the grid can recover and remain productive when intermittent sources are unavailable," Siror said.

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