That 1,200 MW of electricity that Kenya consumes represents the sum total energy use of the 40 million inhabitants of Kenya. This translates to just 30 average watts of electrical power per Kenyan
Environmental News Network reports that a Kenyan power firm is planning on building a 300 MW wind farm, which will open in 2011 and reach full capacity at 2012. On the one hand, this news has some environmentalists celebrating Kenya's new clean energy plans and touting the fact that the wind farm will provide 30% of the nation's electricity (in reality, a 300 MW wind farm will provide more like 8% of the nation's demand, since it will only operate at about 30% of capacity on average). Perhaps more importantly though, this news throws into stark relief the energy poverty that pervades much of the developing world.
That 1,200 MW of energy that Kenya consumes represents the sum total electricity use of the 40 million inhabitants of Kenya. This translates to just 30 average watts of electrical power per Kenyan, disregarding the disparity between haves and have-nots that exists even in this East African nation. Contrast this to California, a state with a population comparable to Kenya's which has approximate 30,000 MW of average electricity demand, almost thirty times Kenya's total electricity demand. And California is the most electricity-efficient state in the country.
Let's run through some figures. 1,200 MW equals 1,200,000 kilowatts. Take this figure and multiply it by 365 days in a year times 24 hours in a day and we are left with the number of kilowatt hours of energy Kenya uses yearly. This figure, 10,512 million kWh, divided by the 40 million inhabitants of Kenya, equals the amount of energy used by one Kenyan on average each year. That number, 262.8 kWh, is as clear a sign as any of the near-abject energy poverty so much of the world still lives in.
Consider this: consuming 262.8 kWh over the course of a year would allow you to use 720 watt hours a day. This is enough to run a typical 100 watt light bulb for little more than 7 hours every day--and nothing else.
And while the thought of the average Kenyan trying to go about their daily lives with little more than one light bulb's worth of power may be striking, let us not forget the roughly two billion people on Earth who do not have access to any electricity whatsoever.
This kind of extreme energy poverty - the reality across so much of the world - puts the international climate debate into a clearer perspective. So much of the climate discussion has been framed (usually by environmentalists in developed nations) as centrally about living smaller and reducing our footprints - with a corresponding focus on energy efficiency and conservation and condemnation of the energy "gluttony" of the citizens of developed nations. Yet, while there are plenty of good reasons to increase energy efficiency in developed nations - both to achieve emissions reductions and to increase the productivity of the economy - this Kenyan example shows exactly why we shouldn't for one second be lulled into thinking that energy efficiency and conservation are "the" solution to the global climate crisis.
If we keep the kind of energy poverty experienced in places like Kenya at the forefront of our thinking, it's not hard to see that focusing on efficiency and conservation as "the" solution to climate change is kind of like focusing on dieting as the solution to hunger in Africa. While there are plenty of good reasons to go on a diet, it's clearly ridiculous to consider dieting as a solution to global hunger and poverty. Likewise, we shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking that a focus on efficiency and conservation will be sufficient to solve climate change - an effort that demands we develop the clean, cheap and scalable energy sources that can expand the supplies of global energy and end global energy poverty.
So say what you will about needing to curb consumption in this country, there can be little question in anyone's mind that those nations like Kenya deserve to be consuming more. It takes more than one light bulb's worth of electricity to prepare food, maintain a decent level of sanitation or maintain a supply of clean water, let alone learn how to read or pursue a decent education. Recognizing the realities of energy poverty requires a focus on developing clean and cheap energy sources that sustainably power the developing world and bring energy access to the billions of global citizens.
As Kenya's new wind farm plans get under way, it is important to keep in mind that most of the world's citizens daily struggles and challenges in life involve not having access to enough energy -- not using too much of it.
Nice post Zadam. What timing, with the fuel truck disaster and all.
Posted by: Chris at February 3, 2009 2:59 PM