Kenyan Gov’t saves US$4M from Fuel Importation on electric vehicles (EVs) adoption in the country

By Victor MUJIDU

 

The Environmental Management Association of Kenya (EMAK) has announced that the government has saved USD4 million from fuel importation as a result of increased adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) in the country.

According to EMAK, the reduction in fuel importation costs is a direct result of the increased use of EVs, which are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly compared to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.

This has not only saved the government money but has also reduced carbon emissions and improved air quality in urban areas.

EMAK has been advocating for the adoption of EVs in Kenya as part of its efforts to promote sustainable transportation and mitigate the impacts of climate change.

The organization believes that the government’s investment in EV infrastructure and incentives for EV adoption have been instrumental in achieving these positive results.

EMAK has also highlighted the economic benefits of transitioning to EVs, including reduced reliance on imported fossil fuels and the creation of new job opportunities in the growing EV industry.

The organization is hopeful that Kenya will continue to lead the way in embracing clean transportation technology and reaping the benefits of a greener, more sustainable future.

The exponential increase in the number of EVs on the road has taken market share, holding great potential for venture capital (VC) investment and slowing down the growing bill in fuel importation that had grown from Ksh348 billion in 2021 and surged to Ksh628 billion in 2022.

As of 2023, Kenya had a growth rate of 5,427 EVs, but the number is anticipated to scale up by 2028.

“Last year with medium support, we managed to save USD4 million, just with the cumulative number of EVs on the road as per what we predicted, and if we use the same analogy at 2028, we will be at USD427 million that we can save by implementing EVs if we are to get 800,000 of the e-mobility incentives,” said the EMAK President during the 2nd Kenya Power E-mobility Conference and Expo at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

The transportation sector has been one of the key players in de-escalating greenhouse gas emissions in the country, accounting for a more substantial reduction that is anticipated to be reduced further in the five years to come.

The immense reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is a result of the increase in the number of EVs as opposed to gasoline vehicles in the country.

“The transportation sector serves as the second highest contributor of greenhouse gas emissions, accounting for approximately 13 per cent of our total emissions, and consequently, the sector has been identified as one of the priority intervention areas in the country’s National Determined Contributions (NDCs), Commitment, and National Climate Change Action Plan,” said the Cabinet Secretary of Energy and Petroleum, Davis Chirchir.

As a hypothesis, experts say that replacing one diesel bus with an electric one can immediately mitigate more than 50 metric tons of CO2 per year.

The NDC plan, which falls at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of its long-term goals, has made Kenya embody its effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 32 per cent by 2030.

As a pushback towards clean energy standardization and reducing overloading on the power transmission network, the Ministry of Energy bets to push for an e-mobility incentive to bridge the curtailment gap that has led to an imbalance between power demand and supply.

“The national electricity demand curve of a typical day in Kenya shows a huge disparity between peak and off-peak power requirements, and to maintain system stability, power generation is normally reduced by a process known as energy curtailment.”

“According to Epra data, a total of 495,437 MWh of energy was curtailed between July 2022 and June 2023, translating to an average of 1,357 MWh. This is a lot of energy that could be put to use by creating demand at night, and e-mobility can help bridge this gap by charging electric vehicles, especially at night, added the CS for Energy.

Meanwhile, the conference that has attracted private investors, including Roam, BusGo, Ampersand, and Giz Kenya, will run for two days with the collective goal of accelerating the adoption of e-mobility in the country.