Kilifi Solar Initiative Set to Slash Utility Bills and Boost Water Access
KILIFI, Kenya, Jan 14 – The World Bank–supported Water and Sanitation Development Project (WSDP), Baricho Water Solarisation Plant in Kilifi county implemented by the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation, Coast Water Works Development Agency (CWWDA) is integrating solar power into the Baricho water system, a move expected to cut electricity costs by at least KSh10 million from the current KSh70 million monthly bill once fully operational.
The project is strategically designed to optimize operational efficiency by significantly reducing the costs associated with coastal water pumping, By transitioning toward sustainable, ‘green’ energy solutions, “we are not only positioning the organization for long-term profitability but also fulfilling our commitment to environmental stewardship we are looking forward to be able to commission and bring down costs”.
Water is pumped from the boreholes then pumped again to the consumers in Mombasa and Kilifi counties the bills are very high Currently amounting close to Ksh 60 million per month.
The project which started in October 2025 is set to be completed by 31st March 2026 But now the contractor is ahead of schedule as He has promised that he can finish by 15th of February But officially the contract should end by 31st March 2026, the project has cost Kenya Shillings 670 million.
Engineer David Kanui, Coast water project coordinator Coast Water Works Development Agency said the project is a very interesting project as Over the past there have had a lot of challenges with the Kenyan power because of the high electricity bills.
The plant has a capacity of 4.6 megawatts, the solar system basically what it will do is that it will power all the boreholes then it will also power the high lift to Malindi, that’s phase 1, phase 2 will come in the near future and phase 3 will now be powering the pumping of water to Mombasa.
“We have been having donors, especially our development partner is World Bank and others, But World Bank agreed to finance this as part of the Water and Sanitation Development Project as We negotiated and they agreed to do this solar power plant So that we can reduce the power bill for this plant”, said Mr. Kanui.
Currently phase 1 is for Malindi high lift and the bores, Phase 2 will be high lift to Mombasa and it is not financed as of now and expect that this project after it is completed, the power bill will reduce by 10 million shillings per month Which means the cost of water and the water companies and the consumers will benefit by saving that 10 million.
Mr. Kanui further noted that they have experienced disconnection here and there when unable to pay the bill as KenyaPower is very quick to disconnect because they are also collecting revenue and we don’t have problem with them because when we talk to them they always reconnect and we pay the bill.
“We are looking forward to get another donor to finance phase 2, which will be the Mombasa high lift pump, When phase 2 is done, the bill will reduce by 30%”, He said.
Serah Mbwaya a solar Engineer said they are putting together a solar system to power pumps in Malindi, which is the first one Currently we’ve completed 60%, it’s still a work in progress, but by the end of this month, we should commission the first phase of it the first phase of phase one, and then now we can now finish the other one by Mid-February.
Ms Mbwaya noted that the lifespan of various components that are being use like solar panels have a lifespan of over 25 years with other components, have a small battery bank, which is helping to even out and stabilize power If there’s a passing cloud, then at least they can continue to work and also and especially it gives the signal to the system So that during the day, they are able to harvest as much of the sun as is possible.
“The lifespan of the batteries being used are lithium ion batteries, and it’s about, what, 10 to 15 years, after that then we will need to replace them we are waiting for, there is a registration which has already been passed to us, called net metering, and our hope is that it is going to be implemented soon, so that coast water can also be able to generate a lot more during the day, feed back to the grid, instead of having a battery bank and then borrow”, She said.
Further as the power system is grid tight they do not have a battery system means that during the day when there is sun, we can pump using solar then at night and the early mornings and in the evening, which is 16 hours, we run on grid Kenya power.
“For the 8 hours we run on solar So 8 out of 24 is advanced, it is at 3% we expect the bill also to go proportionately down by the same margin”.
“We will not stop there, We are also looking at the change in technology and the near future So that we can go off grid by installing a battery system this means that we can store the sun energy during the day Use the sun energy during the day and at night we use the stored energy, the batteries But that one will be phase 3 and in the near future”.
