Community Power Centers "Lighting up Kenya" Initiative by UNIDO Kenya

UNIDO has, in partnership with other stakeholders, been working on a project of Lighting up Kenya using electricity generated from renewable energy resources. The energy generated is then directed to a village power centre that also acts as a community development centre. Once electricity is at the centre, it is used for different applications.

The key objective of the village power centre is to promote electricity for productive use, instead of limiting it for consumptive use like lighting. The centre also promotes income-generating activities that will, in the long run, improve the quality of life in the rural area by provision of clean energy and increase of opportunities for gainful employment, by using energy in value addition of local produce.

The CPC Project

This project is designed to establish clusters of Community Power Centres (five in each cluster) powered by zero-emission hybrid renewable energy technologies such as micro hydro, biogas, wind, solar and straight vegetable oil (SVO) fed Engine-Generators to provide power for lighting and productive activities to off-grid villages with primary focus on the Millennium Villages/Districts of Kenya. The Millennium Villages in Kenya, established in cooperation with the Earth Institute of Columbia University are located in areas far removed from the electric grid or in areas with erratic and unreliable power supply.

The overall development objective of the project is to stimulate local economic development and help alleviate poverty in regions cut off from the grid. The electricity produced from the said renewable energy systems can be used to run small agro-processing and other essential enterprises.

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