NAIROBI: A new British government fund of $4.5 billion to Kenya is set to promote green energy throughout the world and in Kenya. Visiting British Energy Minister Greg Barker said in Nairobi on Wednesday that the British government was “keen to assist Kenya in harnessing geothermal and wind energy.” The minister is being accompanied on his visit to Kenya by a delegation of more than 100 British investors who are exploring available opportunities in the renewable energy sector in Kenya and the larger East Africa region. In December 2009, the leading developed economies had pledged to help raise $100 billion a year from 2020 to finance developments which would cut carbon emissions and help poorer countries adapt to the effects of climate change. The money was to be channeled to developing economies in order to help them exploit renewable energy such as geothermal, wind, solar and bio-mass. In view of its vast geothermal and wind power potential, Kenya is fast becoming a magnet of investment in these two areas. Kenya is estimated to have a capacity to provide 7,000 to 10,000 megawatts (MW) of geothermal energy, mainly in the Rift Valley. The delegation, which includes top executives of Britain's leading green energy firms like EGS Energy and OST Energy, will be meeting stakeholders in the industry during the next three days. Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Patrick Nyoike urged the British government to help Kenya develop more than 15,000 MW of potential geothermal power, as well as wind and hydro-electric power as part of projects under Kenya's Vision 2030 development strategy. Barker said “Britain aimed to use its International Climate Fund to spur private investments instead of relying only on aid to finance low-carbon power generation in Africa.”
