Nigeria, Kenya to lead Africa’s energy microgrids market – Expert

ANASTASIA WALSH, A LEADING ENERGY consultant, at the weekend projected that Africa would become the world’s fastestgrowing market for microgrids at a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 27%, representing 1,145MW by 2027, with Kenya and Nigeria leading the grid modernisation revolution.

Microgrids, which are smallscale power grids that run on a combination of solar, wind, fossil or biomass fuels to provide reliable power, operate either independently from the main grid or can be synchronised to it at the same voltage to shift the energy and respond to peaks and troughs in supply and demand.

Walsh, who is also a legal consultant that focuses on African energy access matters, made this projection in her research paper released in Johannesburg, South Africa by Africa Energy Chamber, a body of experts championing the cause of reliably, environvron, energy supply in the African continent.

The energy, natural resources and environment expert noted that with strong renewable energy and microgrid policies, Kenya had doubled its energy access rates since 2014 and that Nigeria had initiated policy and other institutional measures to drastically increase drastically increase their generating capacity by 2030 with 30% of that planned to be from renewable sources.

Walsh pointed out that for Kenya, Nigeria and other countries in the continent to boost their

microgrid capacities and by implication deepen energy access there was the need for them to adopt and implement a three-point agenda on sustainable basis.

She listed these to include, deliberate efforts of governments to target rural areas for energy