Germany Offers EUR 112 Mn Euros to Kenya for Renewables, Hydrogen

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The German government is mulling to provide EUR 112 million or $118 million to Kenya to help the East African nation develop its renewable energy sector further and achieve 100% renewable energy faster. The funds being offered will also help Kenya for the manufacturing of green hydrogen.

According to reports, the production of green hydrogen with the employment of renewable energy will be meant for export purposes. It could also be used for the manufacturing of fertilizers for the domestic agriculture industry of Kenya.

Currently, Kenya is producing about 90 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources. The main sources of power are hydropower, geothermal energy and wind energy.

Kenya has a declared objective to completely phase out the use of fossil fuels for electricity production by the end of this decade.

The Development Ministry, Federal Government of Germany, has provided a breakup of the financial help. It held that EUR 51 million will be provided for the development of new energy infrastructure and production of hydrogen. EUR 30 million will be employed for the training programs.

The German government said that EUR 30 million will be spent on multiple efforts to ensure that agriculture in Kenya is more resilient to drought. EUR 1.5 million will also be earmarked for anti-corruption programs in the east African country.

Of the total funds being offered by the German government, EUR 76 million will be given in the form of loans. This is part of the agreement signed between Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany and William Ruto, President of Kenya at the UN climate conference in November.

Recently, Bboxx and Unilever – through its detergent brand Sunlight – collaborated to provide speed to clean energy access for 1 million people in Kenya with an objective of transforming their lives.

The expansion of renewables is gaining some momentum of late owing to foreign help and technology transfers. The United Nations (UN) made a donation of $10 million to Zimbabwe to finance the development of its renewable energy projects as the country faces acute power shortages and prolonged darkness hampering the economic activities and the quality of life of the citizens.