It is reported that Kenya currently records total hydropower capacity of 743 megawatts. Hydropower in the country has received a lot of attention since its independence, in addition to other renewable sources. In 2018, Kenya set an ambitious target to increase its share of renewable energy in its electricity mix by 2020, media reports said.

Last month, the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC) partners with SAP Ariba to increase renewable energy distribution across the country. The partnership has led to the launch of Project Platinum. This partnership is expected to hugely benefit REREC in many ways. With that, RERC will be complying with one of Kenya’s official directive which states that all public companies must move to electronic platforms to make the most of advanced technologies.

For Africa, Kenya is spearheading the renewable energy sector with more than 70 percent of its electricity production sourced from geothermal energy.

Globally, nearly three-quarters of new electricity generation capacity built last year sources renewable energy. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), solar, wind, and other renewables cover more than one-third of the world’s power.

Francesco La Camera, director-general of Irena, told the media, “While the trajectory is positive, more is required to put global energy on a path with sustainable development and climate mitigation. At this challenging time, we are reminded of the importance of building resilience into our economies.”

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Coming from a modest entry of only 80MW in attributable capacity in 2011, AC Energy grew their portfolio twenty-fold in the last seven years. This robust growth, according to AC Energy President Eric Francia, is due largely from the strategic partnerships formed with developers and operating companies. “It’s been in our DNA to work with partners. That’s how we grew at a rapid pace in the first seven years, we look for complementarities.”

Ayala Corporation President Fernando Zobel de Ayala echoes this sentiment, reiterating that partnerships have always been at the core of Ayala’s success, “Our partnerships are crucial in ensuring we execute effectively and are able to fast-track our projects.”

Part of this growth trajectory was also AC Energy’s transition from an investment holding company into a full-fledged energy platform with development, operation, and retail capabilities. In early 2017, the company acquired Bronzeoak Philippines’ development platform. The platform has a strong track record in renewables and provides operations and management support services to several renewable energy plants.

With their current energy mix at around 1.3GW in thermal energy and 300MW in renewable, Francia emphasizes the urgent need to scale up the company’s renewables if they are to exceed their 2025 goal. “We’re going to need to scale up our renewables investments over 15 times,” says Francia. “While we see opportunities in the Philippines, we think that a lot of that incremental growth in renewables will have to come through international expansion.”

As countries around the region begin to adopt more favorable policies towards renewable energy, AC Energy has identified the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam as the key markets in their regional expansion strategy. The company also recently acquired a renewables company in Australia.

In 2017, AC Energy experienced early success with their first overseas investment projects in Indonesia, which established the groundwork for the company’s regional presence. Salak and Darajat Geothermal, part of the company’s acquisition of Chevron Indonesia’s assets, accounts for a combined capacity of 637MW. Meanwhile, the Sidrap Wind Project, in partnership with UPC Renewables, went on line last March and generates 75MW in power. Sidrap Wind is the first offshore greenfield project of AC Energy as well as Indonesia’s first wind farm.

Last January, AC Energy and BIM Group of Vietnam committed to jointly develop over 300MW in solar energy. That same month, they broke ground on the 30MW initial phase of the project in Ninh Thuan province. Investment for this phase is expected to reach 800 billion VND ($35 million) and to be completed within the year. Aside from the identified countries, AC Energy expects to enter other key markets within the region for other renewable energy opportunities.

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