Kenya is making strides in solar uptake for off-grid households

President Uhuru Kenyatta inaugurates 50 megawatt (MW) Garissa Solar Power Plant in Garissa County. [PSCU]

The robustly growing Kenyan market for solar home systems has continued to have positive impact on the socio-economic fabric of our society. Indeed, according to a recent World Bank-funded study, Kenya has now become the world’s second largest stand-alone solar home systems market after India, with millions of our citizens benefiting from off-grid lighting solutions.

Since 2009, nearly 6.2 million solar products have been sold in Kenya. Of those, 3.41 million solar home systems were sold between 2016 and 2018, providing improved energy access to almost 14 million people as of December 2018. In the first half of 2019, record sales of almost one million units were made, demonstrating the pace with which the country has embraced off-grid solar solutions.