Kenya's energy consumption

• Official Name: Republic of Kenya.

Summary: Fuelwood, petroleum, and electricity are the three major sources of energy for the Republic of Kenya. Renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, windmills, power alcohol, and biogas, are becoming more important, yet still play a minor role.

Energy Production and Consumption

In 1922, through a merger of two companies (the Mombasa Electric Power and Lighting Company and Nairobi Power and Lighting Syndicate, both established in 1908), the East African Power and Lighting Company (EAPL) was established. In 1954, the Kenya Power Company (KPC) was formed as a subsidiary of the EAPL with the mandate to construct electricity transmission lines between Nairobi and Tororo in Uganda. With operations confined within Kenya, the company finally changed its name to Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC) in 1983.

According to the World Factbook, by 2023, Kenya had a total installed electric capacity of 3.824 million kilowatt-hours and consumed 10.002 billion kilowatt-hours. Because its consumption is greater than its production, the country imported 316 million kilowatt-hours of energy in 2023 and exported only 34 million kilowatt-hours. Kenya's population has increased over the years, and as of 2023, only 76 percent of homes had electricity, although this is significantly more than in the past.

Major Sources of Energy

About 90 percent of Kenya's electricity was generated from renewable sources in 2023. Kenya is the seventh largest geothermal producer in the world. About half the country's energy was generated from geothermal sources, which had an estimated potential of generating 10,000 megawatts but produced 985 megawatts in 2023.

Wind energy also played a significant role in Kenya's generation of electricity. The country had a wind power potential of 3,000 megawatt-hours in 2023. Its Lake Turkana Wind Power Plant was the largest in Africa and supplied 310 megawatt-hours of energy. Wind energy supplied the country with 15.7 percent of its energy in 2023, according to the World Factbook.

Kenya also had the potential for solar energy, especially off-grid, that could supply communities far from existing infrastructure with electricity. Solar energy generated about 4.5 percent of the country's energy in 2023.

Kenya began plans to become a nuclear power producer by 2026. To achieve this goal, in 2022 it signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States in which the United States would share information with Kenya about nuclear power production and technology.

Fossil fuels played only a small role in Kenya's energy production in 2023, generating only about 10 percent of Kenya's total installed energy capacity. Kenya consumed 1,453 million metric tons of coal during this year and 113,000 billion barrels per day of refined petroleum.

Bibliography

Disenyana, Tsidiso. China in the African Solar Energy Sector: Kenya Case Study. Johannesburg: South African Institute of International Affairs, 2009.

"Kenya." US Energy Information Agency (EIA), 2023, www.eia.gov/international/overview/country/KEN. Accessed 30 Sept. 2025.

"Kenya." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 17 Sept. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kenya/. Accessed 30 Sept. 2025.

Kituyi, E. “Application of Life Cycle Management Approach in Sustainable Charcoal Production and Use in Kenya.” Journal of Cleaner Production 12 (2004).

United Nations Environment Programme. Kenya, Integrated Assessment of the Energy Policy: With Focus on the Transport and Household Energy Sectors. Geneva, Switzerland: United Nations Environment Programme, 2006.