Energy

Energy
Theme
Pillar	Infrastructure

Energy (Kiswahili: Nishati) is a theme of the Infrastructure pillar. It covers how electricity is generated and delivered on the coast, and how households cook and light their homes. Access is very uneven: at the 2019 census 86.3 per cent of households in Mombasa had electricity, against 26.1 per cent in Tana River and 50.4 per cent nationally. The region is also the proposed site of some of Kenya's most contested energy projects: a coal plant in Lamu, a gas-fired plant at Dongo Kundu and a nuclear plant in Kilifi.

What this page is for

This is the shared starting point for energy on the coast: please add the projects, organisations, data and stakeholder views you know about, so that everyone can read them side by side.

Energy on the coast today

Household access to electricity rose sharply between the 2009 and 2019 censuses but still differs widely. In 2019 it was 86.3 per cent in Mombasa County, 48 per cent in Taita-Taveta County, 43.6 per cent in Lamu County, 38.6 per cent in Kilifi County, 31.1 per cent in Kwale County and 26.1 per cent in Tana River County, where it had been 2.5 per cent in 2009. Gaps within counties are as wide: Kwale's plan, citing Kenya Power, puts coverage at 77.1 per cent in Ukunda ward and 10.3 per cent in Mackinnon Road.

Generation on the coast mixes oil-fired and solar plant. KenGen's Kipevu III plant in Mombasa, commissioned in 2012, generates 115 MW and cost Sh10 billion. Thermal power averages Sh35.09 per kWh against Sh3.27 for hydropower, and supplied 9.05 per cent of grid output in the six months to December 2025. The 40 MW Malindi Solar plant at Langobaya in Kilifi sells its output to Kenya Power under a 20-year agreement. Because the coast is supplied through the national grid, plants elsewhere matter too. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project, Africa's largest wind farm, has 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850kW, supplying 17% of Kenya's installed capacity.

Cooking still depends mainly on wood and charcoal. Kilifi County reports that over 80 per cent of its households rely on biomass fuels, citing 2019 census data, and Kwale's plan links reliance on wood fuel to pressure on a tree cover of 14 per cent.

Plans and policy

The National Energy Policy 2025-2034 aims at universal electricity access by 2030, cleaner cooking and a mix that prioritises renewables. Under the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), construction of 114 solar mini-grids worth Sh9.4 billion began in May 2026 in 14 counties, including Kilifi, Kwale, Lamu, Taita Taveta and Tana River. The National Treasury's PPP Unit is procuring a feasibility study for a 1,200 MW plant at Dongo Kundu running on imported liquefied natural gas, phased at 300 MW in 2026, 300 MW in 2028 and 600 MW in 2032. Related project pages, such as Greater Mombasa Greenfield Energy Investment, are listed below.

The county plans for 2023-2027 stress access, lighting and renewables. Kilifi reports that grid connections rose from 21 to 64 per cent of households over its previous plan, and plans a 3 MW wind project at Rasngomeni. Mombasa has raised its street lighting to 39,300 points and lists solar and wind as unmapped potential. Lamu aims at rural electrification and more solar street lighting, Tana River proposes solar mini-grids and solar irrigation pumps, and Taita Taveta has identified KOSAP mini-grid sites and put three hospitals forward for rooftop solar. Kilifi has adopted what the Council of Governors calls Kenya's first county clean cooking policy.

Who is involved

Nationally, the Ministry of Energy leads policy and KOSAP, which the World Bank finances. KenGen owns the Kipevu plants, Kenya Power buys power from producers such as Malindi Solar, and the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation and Kenya Power are building the mini-grids. The Nuclear Power and Energy Agency (NuPEA) leads the nuclear proposal, the PPP Unit the gas plant study, and the National Environment Management Authority issues environmental licences, which the National Environment Tribunal can overturn. Private developers include Globeleq and Africa Energy Development Corporation (Malindi Solar) and Amu Power, a consortium of Gulf Energy, Centum Investment and Chinese firms (Lamu coal). Civil society voices include Save Lamu and the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action.

Open questions

Should Kilifi host a nuclear plant? NuPEA proposes a 1,000 MW plant in Kilifi County costing about KES 500 billion, to be built from 2027 and running by 2034. Residents of Uyombo, fishers and activists object, citing radiation, harm to fisheries and the Arabuko Sokoke forest, nuclear waste and poor consultation; the Centre for Justice, Governance and Environmental Action argues the money could build over 2,000 MW of renewables. NuPEA dismisses claims of harm and says it will ensure safety before construction.

Is imported gas the right replacement for diesel? The PPP Unit presents Dongo Kundu as a lower-cost, cleaner alternative to diesel generation; Business Daily notes that Kenya has no confirmed gas reserves and would depend on imports. The feasibility study is meant to test commercial viability.

What became of the Lamu coal plant? In June 2019 the National Environment Tribunal cancelled the licence for Amu Power's 1,050 MW, Sh200 billion plant over inadequate public participation and failure to consider the Climate Change Act; the company said it would address the concerns. This page has not found a public record of what has happened since; editors with current information are invited to add it.

How many coastal homes have power? Kilifi's plan reports grid connections of 64 per cent of households, while the 2019 census figure published by the Commission on Revenue Allocation is 38.6 per cent. The figures come from different sources and years, and a shared, current county measure would help planning.

Coverage the plan expects

• grid access and reliability
• solar and wind projects
• LNG and thermal generation
• energy for industry
• household energy and cooking fuels
• nuclear power proposals
• off-grid and mini-grid electrification

Projects

Greater Mombasa Greenfield Energy Investment

Tudor Creek Barrage

A project page joins this theme by naming it as the theme in its infobox. To start one:

Sources

• Kenya County Fact Sheets, Third Edition, Commission on Revenue Allocation, 2022
• Kilifi County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Kilifi, 2023
• Kwale County Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, County Government of Kwale, 2023
• National Energy Policy 2025-2034, International Energy Agency policies database, 2025
• Kenya gears up for tests on planned natural gas plant, Business Daily, 2026
• Government launches construction of 114 solar mini grids in 14 counties, The Standard, 2026
• Kenya's first nuclear power plant faces opposition from coastal residents, Africanews, 2024
• Sh200 billion Lamu coal plant stopped by tribunal, Business Daily, 2019
• Kilifi County Government Leads the Way with Kenya's First County Clean Cooking Policy, Council of Governors, 2026