Make energy policy to work for the good of Africa's growing population

Geothermal Development Company's Menengai crater drilling site on June 22, 2024. [File, Standard]

Across Africa, the need for affordable, sustainable power is as urgent as it is daunting. Every night, millions of children do homework by candlelight. Clinics struggle to refrigerate lifesaving vaccines. Small businesses close early because there simply isn’t enough electricity. Africa’s energy access gap is one of the most persistent barriers to economic opportunity and social progress with over 600 million people without access to this life-defining resource.

Yet, in Kenya, something remarkable is unfolding and it deserves the world’s attention. More than 90 per cent of our electricity now comes from renewable sources, putting Kenya among the greenest energy systems in the world. Wind turbines along the Ngong hills, Lake Turkana, and geothermal plants humming at Olkaria generate power that is lighting up rural villages and powering Kenya’s cities with minimal carbon footprint.