Contrary to
popular belief, solar power is not good for
By MUNGAI KIHANYA
The Sunday Nation
Nairobi,
26 July 2009
With the Masinga
power station switched off and weather predictions indicating that the
short rains will be very short, the question in the minds of many
Kenyans is why we have never given solar electricity much consideration.
Surely, there is enough sunshine to give us all the power that we need,
isn’t there?
Five years ago
(October 2004), there was a similar power crisis in the country and I
discussed the solar option in this column. I suggested that it made
better economic sense to install energy saving bulbs than to install
photovoltaic systems. Thus I was delighted when the government announced
plans to provide fluorescent bulbs earlier this month.
Still, the question
of solar power remains. In the 2004 articles, I tackled the issue from
the point of view of individual consumers and concluded that it would
not be economical to install these devices to replace grid electricity.
It would take almost 30 years for the system to pay back itself through
saved power bills…and this is for a gadget that has an average lifespan
of 25 years!
The question,
however, can be looked at from a different angle: Would it make economic
sense to build a large scale solar power generation plant? To find out,
it is best to look for the country that has a lot experience in this
field.
Out of the 50 largest installed large scale photo voltaic power plants,
38 are in
This plant was completed early last year at a cost of US$530 million. This works out to just under US$10 million per MW of out put. However, when we bear in mind that the 60MW is the peak output (at noon, in midsummer) and that the plant only generates during the day, the effective installation cost can easily go to almost US$50 million per MW.
Now, there are many other more important things I can do with US$50 million instead of building a one-MW solar power plant – like take my family on a cruise around the world! Even if I was in the energy business, there are better ways of investing this kind money.
Let’s compare: this week, Athi River Mining Company (ARM) announced that it has started construction of a 29MW coal-fired power station. The cost committed to the project is US$55 million. Now, with the slightly less money, they can get a one-MW solar powered plant!
You might think the
solar is cheaper because it will not need fuel to run; but when you
consider that there is coal on the land owned by ARM, that advantage
suddenly disappears. The only problem with their plant is the carbon
dioxide emitted when burning the fuel.
Mumias Sugar Co.
recently completed a 34MW thermal plant at a cost of US$54 million –
again, just slightly more than the cost of a one-MW solar plant. This
one is environmentally safer than coal. The sugarcane byproduct burnt in
running the generators cannot release more carbon dioxide than that
which was absorbed by the crops while growing!
Thus it is clear
that, contrary to popular belief, large scale solar power generation
would not make economic sense…at least not at our level of development.
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