State owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) has been on an upward drive looking for new ways to generate revenues.
The stable firm in terms of profitability is now eyeing Electric Vehicle (EV) charging platforms.
KenGen’s Strategy and Innovation Director David Muthike said Monday through a webinar that the firm is positioning itself to the possibilities of rollout of electric public service vehicles as Kenya eyes reduced reliance on diesel.
“The case to have electric vehicles is there and KenGen is ready to support that with renewable energy,” said Mr Muthike
The webinar was convened by Energy Society Kenya.
In June 2020, the power producer announced plans to start a liquid drilling detergent manufacturing factory. This is also one of those innovative ideas which have spurred growth within the organization and also created opportunities in Kenya and other African countries.
The detergent project whose construction has begun is said to cost Sh60 million.
EV technology locally
Though there are not many electric vehicle owners in Kenya, KenGen has been on the forefront in championing green energy.
The EV charging facilities have been rolled out within Kengen’s facilities
“On innovation, we are exploring to participate in manufacturing and we have also rolled out charging infrastructure with a pilot within our premises.”
Scaling up the project will see KenGen generate revenue from vehicle owners who will require to charge their vehicles but this is heavily dependent on the technology picking up locally.
The use of electric vehicles has been gaining momentum in western countries such as the Netherlands, Germany and US as the world turns attention to cutting down on carbon emission.
However, the high price, insufficient charging infrastructure and energy storing batteries have been cited as the main challenges for adoption and growth of the electric vehicle industry in African countries such as Kenya.
Kenya has about two million vehicles and about 98 percent use petrol or diesel.
Currently Nopia Ride, a cab-hailing app in the country, runs electric cars.
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