Contributors: Onyinyechi Okechukwu (Social Change Communication expert) and Mercie Wamoyi(Broadcaster KBC)
Part One: Empowering Communities Through Renewable Innovation
Rose Ndila remembers the kilometre walks. Every few days, she would leave her small kiosk in Kitui County, close her business, and trek to the nearest town just to charge her mobile phone. The journey ate into her income, kept her children in darkness after sunset, and left them struggling with their homework by candlelight.
Today, Rose’s story has changed dramatically. Two Marathoner solar lanterns now illuminate her home and business, her phone charges at the local solar station run by the Ikisaya Energy Community-Based Organisation, and her children’s grades have soared. At nearby Ikisaya and Ndovoini Primary Schools, mean grades jumped from 170 to 262 marks by 2017—a leap that significantly improved national exam pass rates and opened new educational pathways for rural children.
Rose’s experience isn’t unique. Across Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands, which cover 70% of the country and host 38% of its population, similar stories are unfolding as the nation undergoes one of Africa’s most ambitious renewable energy transitions.
The Quiet Revolution
Kenya has achieved something remarkable: 90% of its electricity generation now comes from renewable sources, with geothermal leading at 47% (particularly from the Rift Valley), followed by hydropower at 21%, wind at 16%, and solar at 4%. This isn’t just an environmental victory; it’s a social and economic transformation that’s reaching into the most remote corners of the country.
The numbers tell part of the story. Electrification rates have surged from 32% in 2013 to 76.5% by 2023, with rural areas seeing the most dramatic gains. But behind these statistics are individual lives being transformed, communities being empowered, and a new class of green entrepreneurs emerging.
Women Leading the Charge
In the Maasai Mara, Lasoi Sengeny represents a new kind of entrepreneur. Trained through the Solar Mamas project by Basecamp Foundation, she’s one of many Maasai women who’ve learned solar photovoltaic technology and turned it into a business. Lasoi now sells solar products and earns 500 Kenyan shillings for each maintenance call—money that’s helping her community while contributing to the planting of over 80,000 trees.
The Women in Solar Energy Empowerment (WISEe) program has been equally transformative. Ruth Nzioka was among 65 women who underwent specialised training to become licensed solar technicians. Initially, she faced skepticism from clients who doubted a woman could install solar systems. But her expertise spoke for itself. At the Faraja Adventist Centre, her installation saves 5,000 shillings monthly on lighting costs. At Ronesa Junior School, her work enhanced ICT access for 139 pupils, opening new educational possibilities.
“The resistance was real at first,” Ruth recalls, “but once people saw the quality of my work and the savings they achieved, the skepticism disappeared. Now, women are specifically requesting women installers.”
Innovation from the ground up
Kenya’s energy revolution isn’t just happening through mega-projects—it’s being powered by community-led innovation and bold local initiatives.
In Makueni County, the Solar Energy Cooperative Society serves around 3,000 people with 60 connections, enabling small businesses to thrive and reducing dependence on expensive kerosene.
Kyle Schutter’s Takamoto Balloon Biogas, founded in 2011, exemplifies this entrepreneurial spirit. The company has installed over 450 biogas systems across 24 counties, with Kiambu County leading at 200 systems. These installations provide clean energy to small-scale dairy farmers while creating local jobs and winning recognition like the Enjuba Young Entrepreneur Award.
Meanwhile, Wisdom Innovations, established in 2010, has sold 3,700 gasifier stoves, specifically targeting women end-users to reduce indoor air pollution and create new market opportunities. The company’s focus on women is intentional—women bear the brunt of indoor air pollution from traditional cooking methods and are often the decision-makers for household energy solutions.
Agricultural transformation
Perhaps nowhere is the impact more visible than in agriculture. Naftaly Munyiri’s story illustrates this transformation perfectly. Using SunCulture’s solar-powered irrigation systems, he’s increased his income while saving 3,000–4,000 shillings monthly on fuel costs. More importantly, he can now grow crops despite climate challenges, turning unreliable rainfall from a threat into a manageable challenge.
These solar irrigation systems are particularly crucial in Kenya’s drought-prone areas, where 16 major drought events between 1990 and 2020 affected 53 million people. By providing reliable water access independent of rainfall, solar-powered agriculture is offering resilience against climate variability.
The Youth Climate Movement
Leading this transformation is a generation of young Kenyans who see climate action not as a burden but as an opportunity. Elizabeth Wathuti, founder of the Green Generation Initiative (GGI), embodies this movement. Her organisation has planted over 30,000 trees and focuses on environmental education, empowering youth to take direct action on climate change—efforts that contribute to Kenya’s ambitious goal of 15 billion trees by 2050 to increase forest cover from 8.8% to 30%.
Wathuti’s influence extends far beyond local tree planting. Her speeches at COP26 brought international attention to Kenya’s climate efforts, while locally, GGI collaborates with the Ministry of Environment to strengthen restoration efforts. The broader youth climate movement has impacted over 205,700 people and planted 6,590,000 trees—representing millions of tons of carbon sequestration potential and significant progress toward land restoration goals.
Scaling Social Impact Through Renewable Infrastructure
The renewable energy transition is improving basic services in ways that statistics barely capture. Solar power enables rural clinics to store temperature-sensitive medicines and operate diagnostic equipment, directly improving patient outcomes. Schools like Gaitheri School in Muranga County have seen their power bills drop while extending computer classes for students, as principal Jackson Kiragu proudly reports.
These improvements cascade through communities. When children can study after dark, educational outcomes improve. When clinics can refrigerate vaccines, health outcomes improve. When small businesses can operate longer hours, economic opportunities multiply.
Beyond individual stories: National leadership
Kenya’s achievements have positioned it as a quiet but influential climate leader in Africa. The country is now the continent’s largest geothermal energy producer and hosts its largest wind farm—the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project. With renewable energy comprising 90% of the national grid and ambitious plans for 100% renewable power by 2030, Kenya is showing other African nations what’s possible.
This leadership was formalised when Kenya hosted the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in 2023, where President William Ruto launched the Accelerated Partnership for Renewables in Africa (APRA). The initiative represents Kenya’s commitment to sharing its renewable energy expertise across the continent, backed by comprehensive policy frameworks including the Kenya Climate Change Act 2016 and the Energy Transition Investment Plan of 2024, which aims to achieve zero emissions by 2050.
The Promise Ahead
Samuel Mwanza, a sustainable finance expert who serves as finance and admin manager at Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, embodies this personal transformation. “For me, solar powers my borehole pump—no more national grid bills. I’m not straining the system; I’m using renewable energy,” he explains.
Finance and admin manager, Kenya broadcasting corporation.
His village experience reflects a broader change: “When I was growing up, we used kerosene lamps to study. Now, in my village, nearly every home has adopted solar. It’s rare to find a child without a lantern. That’s how widespread it’s become.”
What makes Kenya’s story particularly compelling is how it demonstrates that environmental sustainability and economic development aren’t competing goals—they’re mutually reinforcing. Every solar panel installed, every biogas system commissioned, and every young person trained in renewable energy technology represents both environmental progress and economic opportunity.
The transformation happening in places like Kitui County, where Rose Ndila no longer makes those 10-kilometre walks, is being replicated across Kenya. Community-based organisations are generating monthly revenues of 50,000 shillings from solar charging stations. Women entrepreneurs are building businesses around renewable energy. Students are accessing educational technology that seemed impossible just years ago.
This is Kenya’s renewable energy revolution—not just a shift in how electricity is generated, but a fundamental transformation in how communities live, work, and prosper. It’s a revolution that’s particularly remarkable because it’s being led not by governments or corporations alone, but by ordinary people like Rose, Lasoi, Ruth, and Elizabeth, who saw an opportunity to improve their lives and their communities simultaneously.
As Kenya approaches its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030, these individual stories remind us that the most important measure of success isn’t just environmental—it’s human.
The real victory lies in homes lit by solar lanterns, livelihoods powered by clean energy, and communities proving that sustainability is not just a goal—but a pathway to shared prosperity.
This is Part One of a two-part series examining Kenya’s renewable energy transition. Part Two will explore the challenges and tensions that accompany this transformation, including displacement issues, foreign investment concerns, and the politics of energy infrastructure.
