BYD has been an electric vehicle manufacturer for over 27 years and is one of the leading brands in countries like China and Africa. They have also established a good name in manufacturing electric buses, and their battery work is said to be their most reliable feature making the vehicles long-lasting. BasiGo, today has launched Kenya’s first electronic bus with the help of BYD. The co-founder of the company Mr. Jit Bhattacharya says that they selected BYD for their vehicle parts making as it is amongst the most trusted firms in auto parts all over the globe.
In Kenya, approximately 90% of the electricity in 2020 was produced with renewables such as solar and geothermal. These low-cost electricity generation renewables power up to 40% of the total electricity produced in Kenya. For example, if we talk about production from geothermal renewables, they will have powered up to 672 megawatts of electricity in 2020.
This technological change has resulted in the Kenyan government pushing the industry toward it. However, even with some environmental impacts, it is yet the best option for Kenya and could lead to a potentially advanced EV era. The Kenyan power generation sector has also produced 2,991 MW, out of which the off-peak loads take up to 1,200 MW when the people are at home and charging their vehicles. This adaptation to electric vehicles is thus causing a surplus in the electricity produced and can be used further ahead.
On the other hand, the Kenyan government has introduced several incentives like the zero-rate tax on all electronic vehicles. In addition, many charging stations are built, and it is ensured that all new buildings must have a charging station within. The principal secretary of Kenya, Mr. Andrew Kamau, says that they aim to expand the electronic cars to up to 5% of the total cars running on the roads of Kenya.
Kenya is a hub of international business in Africa, and its excessive power generation makes it the best-suited country to launch this transportation advancement. From climatic changes to development in the sector, all can be measured accurately here, having the abundant resources and manpower to do so. Moreover, revolutionizing will create enough employment opportunities for the people residing, boosting the economy in total.
As per the reports of IQAir, Nairobi is the worst city in the world for traffic congestion. Kenya, though has moderately clean air. All of this is accounted to the fossil fuel combustion in the sector. The country’s 13% of emissions is through the transport sector, causing several greenhouse effects and ultimately leading to global warming and climatic changes. A German agency named GIZ study says that if quick adaptation to electronic vehicles is made, an estimated 629,000 tons of carbon dioxide emission will be reduced in Kenya, making the sector strong and the air clean.
A Swedish-Kenyan company, Roam, is also trying to avail of this opportunity by investing USD 7.5 million to produce EV buses. Mr. Dennis Wakaba, the project coordinator at Roam, says by the mid of 2022, 10 buses will be out, each costing USD 100,000. In 2017, Roam also converted old gas combustion buses into electronic ones.
