From June 26 to 28, the much-anticipated Kenya SOLAR AFRICA Exhibition was held at Kenyatta International Conference Center in Nairobi, Kenya, and came to a successful end. The exhibition not only set up a high-quality platform for global solar energy enterprises to communicate and cooperate, but also centrally demonstrated the great potential and vigorous vitality of the new energy market in Kenya and even the whole East African region.
On the exhibition site, more than 150 exhibitors from 27 countries gathered together, with connected booths and abundant exhibits. Advanced solar panels, high-efficiency energy storage systems, intelligent energy management solutions and other cutting-edge products and technologies were on display, and more than 11,000 decision-makers, manufacturers and other professional visitors in the energy field shuttled through the exhibition to listen to product explanations and exchange industry trends, which created a warm atmosphere. The exhibition also held a number of seminars and forums, industry elites around the hot topics to discuss, stirring up innovative thinking sparks.
As the economic engine of East Africa, Kenya’s new energy market is developing rapidly. Although the country’s power supply has improved, about 30% of the population in rural and remote areas are still not connected to the power grid, and the shortage of power seriously restricts people’s livelihood and economic development. For this reason, the Kenyan government has proposed the goal of 100% clean energy power supply by 2030, which brings significant opportunities for the solar industry.
With 6-8 hours of sunshine per day, Kenya is blessed with abundant light resources. Although solar energy only accounts for 6% of renewable energy, it has great potential for development. With the advancement of technology and cost reduction, there is a strong demand for rural microgrid tenders and small-scale optical storage projects. Among them, Kosap rural microgrid project plans to cover 14 counties, before 2030 to build 250,000 independent solar systems and 120 microgrid. Driven by both policy dividends and market demand, Kenya’s solar industry has accelerated its development and become the focus of global new energy enterprises.
From the policy and financial dimensions, Kenya has built a solid support for the development of solar energy. In terms of policy, the government promotes the application of solar energy through tariff adjustment and subsidy incentives, promotes the digital transformation of energy through smart grid technology, and provides low-interest loans and tax exemptions for enterprises adopting photovoltaic + energy storage systems based on the “Green Industrial Park Program”. In the financial field, international institutions such as the World Bank and the African Development Bank have injected special funds for small-scale distributed energy projects.
At the exhibition, Guangdong Yuyang New Energy, as a national high-tech enterprise from China, performed exceptionally well. Yuyang new energy comprehensive layout of household energy storage, industrial and commercial and large-scale energy storage, low-speed power battery system, lithium battery recycling and secondary utilization of four business segments, sales and service network covering more than 80 countries and regions around the world. At the exhibition, Yuyang New Energy brought its innovative energy storage products and cutting-edge technology solutions to the show, attracting many local Kenyan enterprises and international buyers to stop and discuss. Its display of home energy storage lithium battery pack, industrial and commercial energy storage systems and other products, using the head of high-quality batteries, with advanced production technology and MES intelligent manufacturing system, product consistency to meet the stringent requirements. So far, the company has won more than 50 national invention patents, design patents and utility model patents, passed more than 100 global product certifications such as IEC, CE, UL, etc., and established complete ISO9001, ISO14001, ISO45001 quality management system certifications. These technological and product advantages meet the urgent demand of the Kenyan market for stable and efficient energy storage equipment. Through in-depth exchanges with local enterprises, Yuyang New Energy has reached a preliminary cooperation intention with some Kenyan partners, and will work together to promote a number of energy storage projects in the future to help Kenya’s solar energy industry and the synergistic development of the energy storage field.
Kenya SOLAR AFRICA Exhibition builds a bridge for global enterprises to gain insight into the local new energy market. With abundant light resources, clear policy support and strong energy demand, Kenya has become a popular destination for overseas investment. With the continuous injection of multinational capital and technology, the local new energy industry is expected to realize a breakthrough in both scale and technology through the synergistic innovation of many parties, which will not only help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, but also provide a model for the global energy transition and promote the upgrading of international cooperation in renewable energy. Kenyan solar energy exhibition trip ended perfectly, and new opportunities in the new energy market were identified.
