Solar

Kenya is standing at the edge of one of Africa’s most ambitious clean energy revolutions. Cleaner alternatives like solar electric cooking, LPG, biogas, and hybrid renewable systems are slowly but surely replacing firewood, diesel, and reliance on an unreliable grid in schools across the nation. Financial institutions are aggressively and increasingly joining the market. Policymakers are no longer hesitantly pushing for adoption. On the global front, development partners like AfDB and Clean Cooking Alliance are keenly watching.

There is a growing risk hidden underneath this rushed school solarization and clean cooking acceleration

While the momentum looks impressive on paper, there is a growing risk hidden underneath this hasty acceleration. This is the risk of a treacherous upsurge in poorly designed solar energy systems driven by cost-cutting, aggressive competitive pricing, underpricing, and hasty implementation.

If this trend continues uncontrolled, it can not only cause financial harm to schools but also erode confidence in the renewable energy transition as a whole.

Compromising Engineering Quality

The issue is not solar technology itself. Solar works.

According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, solar photovoltaic costs have decreased by more than 87% globally over the past decade, making solar one of the most affordable sources of electricity in the open market. According to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, less than 3% of the world’s solar generation capacity is produced in Africa, despite the continent having over 60% of the world’s finest solar resources.

Current industry trends suggest that the real issue is ‘compromising engineering quality.’ This is often driven by pressure to reduce costs, accelerate timelines, or bypass rigorous testing, leading to severe long-term consequences, including structural failures, safety hazards, and reputational damage.

The true problem that schools should be worried about is EPCs that “compromise engineering quality.”

There is a growing trend where schools are misled to select solar providers based primarily on upfront price rather than long-term system performance, technical design integrity, lifecycle costs, or operational sustainability. In the process, system sizes are being reduced to fit budgets rather than actual energy demand.

In the end, batteries are undersized, monitoring systems are excluded, future load growth is ignored, and operations and maintenance frameworks are overlooked.

The outcome is foreseeable: after a few months of installation, systems that appear inexpensive at the time of procurement turn out to be unreliable, inefficient, and expensive.

Financers at Risk of Significant Reputational Damage

This challenge became evidently apparent during a stakeholder meeting convened by KCB Bank at the KCB Leadership Centre earlier this year. The session brought together financial institutions, policymakers, and clean energy providers to discuss financing models for schools transitioning to renewable energy solutions.

Among the strongest concerns that KCB raised was that of substandard installations

The meeting exposed both the massive opportunity within the country’s clean cooking transition as well as very grave quality risks emerging across the sector.

According to KCB, the bank has already supported roughly 300 schools in integrating clean energy solutions nationwide and now aims to facilitate financing of up to 3,000 schools by the end of 2026. Considering that Kenya has at least 40,000 basic learning institutions nationally, the scale of the transition ahead is immense. But so are the risks linked to hasty and poor implementation.

Among the strongest concerns that KCB raised during the discussions was that substandard installations could damage not only individual schools but also its reputation as the chief financier, government programs, and the wider clean energy industry.

Reputational Investment for Schools

That concern is legitimate. Clean energy financing is now more than just a lending instrument for financial institutions. It is a reputational investment.

Once poorly designed systems fail after installation, schools will not distinguish between the EPC installer, the financier, or the policy framework behind the project. To many principals and school boards, failure will simply mean “solar does not work.” Already, a small sample of school principals who benchmarked in installed schools express this concern.

Solar cooking is not a simple plug-and-play retail product.

That perception could brutally slow adoption on a national scale.

The risk is specifically high in institutional cooking systems, as solar cooking is not a simple plug-and-play retail product. It is an engineered infrastructure system.

Solar procurement is still approached by many schools as though they were purchasing panels and batteries. In reality, institutional solar cooking comprises electrical engineering, thermal analysis, load profiling, future demand forecasting, cooking behavior studies, operational modeling, and long-term maintenance planning.

Some schools are compromising quality for cost.

A school kitchen that serves 500 pupils will operate significantly differently from one that serves 3,500. Boys’ schools will most likely consume more food than girls’ schools. Regional differences also exist in meal portion sizes. Some institutions operate bakeries, posho mills, water pumping systems, laboratories, or workshops that significantly alter energy demand profiles.

Kenya’s clean energy transition will be determined by how many are still working efficiently in 2036.

These realities cannot be adequately captured by historical electricity bills alone, necessitating a thorough feasibility/technical investigation.

Industry experts cautioned against constructing systems solely using historical KPLC invoices during the KCB stakeholder consultations. Monthly consumption bills rarely show dormant or irregular loads in many institutions, especially TVETs and other technical institutes. System sizing may become dangerously wrong in the absence of appropriate data logging and load analysis.

This is precisely where design-led companies like Miale Solar differentiate themselves from cost-led EPC contractors.

Why Miale Solar Advocates Design-led Initiatives

At Miale Solar, system design is approached as a long-term engineering exercise rather than a sales negotiation. The company’s philosophy has been heavily shaped by Swedish engineering influence and European quality standards that prioritize lifecycle performance over short-term procurement savings.

With substandard installation, schools will be forced to pay the true cost of “cheap” solar

That philosophy often places the company at odds with a growing market culture driven by aggressive underpricing and commercial compromise.

In many cases today, schools are being swayed to adopt smaller systems than technical assessments recommend simply because the lower cost appears financially attractive during board discussions. But energy infrastructure does not obey procurement psychology. It obeys physics, load demand, thermal behavior, and operational realities.

An undersized battery bank, for instance, cannot magically support a kitchen load beyond its designed autonomy. An overloaded inverter will sooner or later fail. Poor-quality cabling also creates safety risks. Weak monitoring systems also eliminate visibility into system performance, while inadequate maintenance planning leads to rapid degradation.

Eventually, the school will be forced to pay the true cost of “cheap” solar. Often through replacement costs, operational disruptions, or total system failure, as well as through loss of confidence in renewable energy itself.

The Growing Quality Challenge is a Concern

This rising quality challenge is not unique to Kenya. Africa-wide, rapid solar expansion has created cumulative concern over low-quality installations and compromised engineering standards. As reported by the International Energy Agency, sub-Saharan Africa made up only around 2% of global clean energy investment in recent years, in spite of being home to virtually 20% of the global population.

Such an investment gap often inspires cost minimization over long-term infrastructure resilience.

Back in Kenya, as clean cooking accelerates nationally, the country has to contend with a critical decision point: whether to put a priority on installation numbers or long-term system performance.

The variance matters immensely.

While a poorly designed system will make it possible to achieve short-term adoption targets, it is easy to predict that once schools eventually witness defective solarization and cooking operations, incidences of battery failures, or cumulating maintenance costs, the long-term damage will overshadow the initial noble intentions.

KCB faces a trade-off between installation numbers and long-term system performance.

For this reason, institutional clean energy financing must give priority to quality assurance frameworks.

The need for standardized goods, authorized original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), remote monitoring capabilities, and robust operations and maintenance structures was highlighted during the KCB stakeholder event.

These are not administrative requirements. They are risk management supplies.

Correspondingly, operations and maintenance agreements have become critical since institutional systems demand long-term technical support. Compared to residential rooftop systems, school cooking infrastructure experiences intensive daily usage under highly strenuous operational conditions.

Why Miale Solar Thinks in the Long Term

This long-term thinking has become the fundamental project philosophy at Miale Solar. Miale’s projects have, as a tradition, integrated detailed site assessments, demand profiling, remote monitoring strategies, and lifecycle planning before implementation can begin.

System sizing is virtually impossible without appropriate data logging and load analysis.

In unique scenarios, this approach means walking away from projects where potential clients insist on reducing system specifications below technically feasible thresholds.

That decision may seem commercially problematic in the short term, but it demonstrates that Miale Solar has a deeper understanding of infrastructure responsibility. Because in due course, failed systems lead to significant reputational damage.

It is also unethical, as they damage public trust and institutional confidence. Most significantly, they undercut the integrity of Kenya’s clean energy transition.

Ingredients for a sustainable clean cooking revolution

Kenya already has much of the ingredient required for success: strong renewable energy potential, growing financial innovation, supportive policy momentum, and an increasingly proficient local engineering ecosystem.

Financers and installers should prioritize quality assurance frameworks

However, the next phase of growth will need to be guided by technical discipline rather than hasty installations alone.

Solar systems should not be designed around what schools wish to spend. They should be designed around what institutions, in point of fact, need to operate reliably for the next ten to fifteen years, even after the school principals and board of management retire.

This difference may ultimately determine whether Kenya builds a sustainable clean cooking revolution or merely a short-term KCB-led installation boom.

Ultimately, the success of Kenya’s clean energy transition will not be determined by how many solar systems were installed in 2026. It will be determined by how many are still working efficiently in 2036.

Miale Solar Inventions Ltd, a leading Kenyan solar developer serving commercial, industrial and institutional (C&I) energy users, with strategic roots in Sweden, has secured a EUR 5 million funding commitment from Trine, a Swedish impact investing platform specializing in renewable energy financing in emerging markets.

The funding marks the start of a long-term strategic partnership between Miale and Trine, aimed at rapidly scaling access to lower-cost, zero-upfront solar power for consumers across Kenya, including businesses, factories, schools, hospitals, and other critical institutions.

Through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), Miale Solar typically supplies solar electricity at 50% lower cost compared to prevailing KPLC tariffs, with no upfront capital investment required from customers.

Savings are calculated relative to current grid tariffs and depend on site conditions and consumption profiles.

Jonas Barman, Co-founder of Miale Solar, said:

“This partnership with Trine validates Miale’s operating model and long-term vision. For commercial, industrial, and institutional energy users, our PPA model enables an immediate and substantial reduction in electricity costs—often at 50% lower than KPLC—without any upfront investment. This allows organisations such as hospitals, schools and manufacturers to redirect capital toward their core mission while lowering operating expenses.”

The new financing positions Miale among the best-capitalized solar developers focused on large-scale, on-site generation in Kenya and enables the company to accelerate deployment of solar systems for high-consumption customers, while strengthening its balance sheet and project pipeline.

Stephen Adwong’a, Chief Executive Officer of Miale Solar Inventions, commented:

“This milestone reflects strong investor confidence in Miale’s governance, execution capability, and focus on serving large energy users. With Trine as a long-term financing partner, we are well positioned to scale rapidly and become a leading solar infrastructure partner for Kenya’s commercial, industrial and institutional sector.”

Kenya is one of Africa’s most advanced renewable energy markets, with more than 80% of electricity generation coming from renewable sources. Despite this, many commercial and institutional energy users continue to face high electricity tariffs, grid instability, and dependence on costly diesel backup, creating strong demand for on-site solar solutions that reduce costs while improving energy security.

Miale Solar addresses this need by designing, financing and operating solar power systems for commercial, industrial and institutional clients. Under its PPA model, customers purchase solar electricity produced on-site at a significantly discounted rate relative to grid power, while Miale retains ownership and operational responsibility for the asset throughout the contract term.

For energy-critical facilities such as hospitals, schools, and industrial operations, Miale also integrates battery energy storage systems to increase energy security, reduce reliance on diesel generators, and ensure continuity of operations during grid outages. Storage solutions are engineered based on each customer’s operational requirements and can be combined with both PPA and alternative financing structures.

Eric Mwenda, Chief Financial Officer of Miale Solar, added:

“Trine’s investment strengthens Miale’s capital structure and enables disciplined growth at scale. It allows us to deploy long-term capital into high-quality solar and storage assets for commercial and institutional clients, while maintaining strong risk management and asset performance.”

Founded in 2015, Miale Solar has developed and operates a growing portfolio of solar assets serving large energy users across education, healthcare, manufacturing, and agricultural value chains in Kenya. The company combines Nordic sustainability principles, strong corporate governance, and deep local execution capability to deliver bankable infrastructure projects aligned with international investment standards.

The partnership with Trine further reinforces Miale Solar’s position as a trusted solar infrastructure partner for organisations seeking immediate electricity cost reductions, zero upfront investment, and improved energy security.

Every year, women in Africa spend an estimated 40 billion hours collecting firewood, which could be used for education, income, or rest.  In Kenya, more than 80% of rural households still cook with charcoal and firewood.  For many women, this everyday burden causes more than just exhaustion: it exposes them to health hazards, hazardous situations, and limited economic opportunities.

Now, an unforeseen but crucial partnership is stepping forward with an unlikely vision.

In a move that is already attracting attention from development partners and county governments, Miale Solar, a rising player in clean-energy solutions, has joined forces with Woman’s Hope Organization, a grassroots women’s empowerment group working across Kenya’s informal settlements and peri-urban communities.

Their goal is to combine solar innovation with women-centered social impact in a way that can change people’s lives while also unlocking fresh funds for projects that are sometimes overlooked in conventional energy investments.

A Fusion of Two Worlds

On the surface, the two organizations couldn’t be more unlike.

Miale Solar is well-known for installing solar systems and clean cooking solutions in schools, businesses, and institutions; the company specializes in engineering, technical design, and renewable-energy implementation.

Woman’s Hope, on the other hand, works with survivors of gender-based violence, young moms, and women in low-income neighborhoods who are trying to make a living against the odds.Their areas of operation are not boardrooms or building sites, but rather church halls, market centers, and community safe houses.

However, as both organizations realized, their missions overlapped more organically than intended.
“Every conversation with the women we serve revolves around energy, how much they spend, how unsafe it is, and how limiting it becomes,” said Mrs. Consolata Waithaka, Woman’s Hope managing director. “Electricity, cooking, storage, and security are more than just technical concerns. They are women’s issues.”

Miale Solar reached a similar conclusion from an opposing direction.  “Solar is not just hardware,” explains Miale’s clean cooking coordinator.  “The true impact occurs when technology creates opportunities.  And when women lead, opportunities increase the fastest.

This month, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, signalling to development funders and donors that they intend to pursue consortiums, joint funding funding, co-designed projects, and community-driven solar breakthroughs.

Fusing the Violence of Poverty to the Power of Energy

According to community testimonials and police data, women in energy-poor households are more exposed to domestic abuse, economic dependence, and hazardous working conditions, especially in rural and market areas where lighting is scarce. UN Women confirms that that workload tend to be higher among workloads tend to be highest among women in rural areas and low-income households.

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN-Women Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, comments that “women and girls bear the brunt of a turbulent, often unjust world. Fewer economic resources, greater responsibilities for unpaid care and domestic work, and limited voice and agency push many behind.”

Bahous also explains that social protection systems “must recognize and address these challenges head-on to reduce poverty among women and girls, increase their resilience to shocks and help transform the norms, structures and institutions that perpetuate their disadvantage.”

In lakeside regions like Homa Bay and Kisumu, women fish vendors, many of whom work in the informal “blue economy,” are regularly abused due to a shortage of cold storage, forcing them into dangerous dependency relationships with fishermen. A simple solar-powered refrigerator, properly managed by a women’s group, can eliminate that vulnerability overnight.

“Energy is both protection and power,” says Stephen Adwong’a, CEO Miale Solar. “When a woman controls her tools like lighting, refrigeration of fish, clean cooking, she controls her livelihood. And when she controls her livelihood, she controls her life.”

A Partnership Tailored to Draw Global Support

Development organizations are devoting more attention to gender-responsive climate solutions. Donors such as UN Women, the African Development Bank, and climate-justice funds have continuously promoted collaboration between innovation businesses and grassroots youth or women’s empowerment organizations to connect renewable energy, women’s empowerment, and community resilience.

However, many women’s organizations face barriers to accessing such resources due to a lack of technical expertise or financial documents required by major funders.

According to Mrs. Waithaka, the partnership with Miale Solar will help close such gaps.

Technical firms, on the other hand, are usually overlooked by funders as their work is regarded as being too commercial, too narrowly focused, or not enough grounded in community realities.

The Miale-Woman’s Hope Alliance attempts to close that gap

Miale Solar’s new framework encompasses technical expertise in solar design, installation, maintenance, and product innovation to promote blue economy across Kenya. Woman’s Hope, on the other hand, will build community infrastructure by rallying women, teaching entrepreneurs, and developing solutions that address real-world issues.

According to Miale Solar’s Clean Cooking coordinator, together, they are crafting proposals for projects such as solar-powered cold-chain hubs for women in lake regions, solar clean-cooking programs in schools supporting young mothers, women-led solar micro-enterprise clusters, solar lighting for markets where gender-based violence is prevalent, and training programs preparing women for jobs in the renewable-energy sector

Each project is built around Mrs. Waithaka’s philosophy, asserting that “technology is most transformative when placed directly in the hands of women.”

A Human Story Behind the Impact

Ruth Otieno, a 27-year-old fish vendor from Homa Bay, discusses what it means to be without refrigeration.  “If I don’t sell everything before noon, it will spoil.  When the catch is large, we lose a lot of money,” she explains.  “Some women are pressured into deals, sometimes sexual, they don’t want just to keep the business going.”

She claims that having a solar-powered freezer will change her life.  “I could work without any fear.  I could plan.  “I could save.”

Stories like hers provided a strong rationale for both organizations to come together.  It has to be a common mission that funders and communities could support.

A New Model for Development

According to experts at FAO, the clean-energy business is entering a phase in which cross-sector collaboration is no longer discretionary but required.  Climate resilience, gender equality, and economic inclusion are inextricably interwoven concerns that cannot be addressed by a single actor.

 Miale Solar and Woman’s Hope are promoting themselves as a dual-engine concept capable of providing demonstrable, human-centered effect.

 It is a relationship founded on the belief that energy is more than just a commodity; it is a catalyst for safety, dignity, and opportunity.

Looking Forward

As the partnership is preparing to pitch its first round of joint proposals, the two organizations say report that enthusiasm is already rising after a successful Global Divas Summit charity run event in Kilifi on December 4-6.  Local county administrations, including Kilifi County, have shown interest.  As international funders are taking note, community groups are reaching out to find out when the first projects will begin.

There is a sense that something broader is taking shape, that Kenya’s clean-energy revolution must include the women who hold communities together.

This partnership has the potential to serve as a model for the continent, with solar energy empowering women and women’s leadership driving Africa’s future development, concludes Mrs. Waithaka.

More than 90% of rural Kenyan schools still rely on firewood for cooking. Nationally, over 250 tons of firewood are consumed annually by boarding schools alone, according to 2024 data from the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI). The result? Thousands of cooks and students across the country, including in counties like Kwale, are exposed daily to smoke levels that exceed World Health Organization (WHO) safety limits.

And yet, despite these glaring numbers, most school kitchens in Kwale still operate under a blackened iron roof, fueled by chopped trees and choking smoke.

Smoke Levels in Kenyan Schools exceed WHO limits

Dr. James Mwitari, a senior research fellow in Environmental Health and Epidemiology at KEMRI and Co-Director of Clean Air Africa, warns that these conditions are not just outdated—they’re dangerous. “We’re seeing school kitchens producing PM 2.5 pollutants far above safe levels,” he says. This puts cooks, children, and teachers at risk of lung disease, cardiovascular illness, and even school absenteeism.

Air quality sensors in parts of Kenya have consistently showed PM2.5 levels, which exceed WHO limits. Studies have shown that PM2.5 levels in school kitchens, as well as classrooms and among cooks, can be significantly higher than the WHO’s recommended 24-hour average.

With Kenya racing toward its ambitious 2028 target of 100% clean cooking access, Kwale’s continued dependence on biomass raises serious questions. Why are so few schools preparing to adopt cleaner alternatives like LPG or solar cooking? And more importantly, what can be done now to reverse the trend?

Schools, often operating on tight budgets and serving hundreds of boarding students daily, have become heavy consumers of firewood, with the KEMRI reporting that boarding schools need up to 250 tons of firewood annually to meet their cooking energy needs. The WHO estimates indicate 360 tons of firewood annually. The result is predictable and alarming: forest degradation, indoor air pollution, and chronic health issues for kitchen staff and students alike.

A Daily Dose of Smoke

In a recent technical survey that Miale Solar and KCB conducted in at least 14 Kwale schools, the reality was glaring. Nearly all kitchens surveyed still used firewood. Cooks worked in thick smoke, many without protective gear. In one school, the head cook admitted to suffering from persistent eye irritation.

Dr. James Mwitari raised the alarm during a recent press briefing.

“The vision of transitioning schools to clean cooking by end of 2025 is achievable with collaborative arrangements such as this,” he said, referring to recent public-private sector initiatives. “”Ninety per cent of schools are using wood fuel to run their kitchens and these kitchens there are cooks there who are staying there for very many hours, we have children who are being exposed in their classrooms as well as in the dormitories and the playgrounds.”

These put cooks, children, and teachers at risk of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases.”

He also pointed out a little-discussed impact of biomass smoke: school absenteeism and poor cognitive performance among children. “This isn’t just an environmental issue,” Dr. Mwitari emphasized. “It’s a public health emergency.”

Why Clean Cooking Matters Now

Kenya has set an ambitious but necessary goal: 100% access to clean cooking by 2028. In its latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC, the country committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2035, a reduction of over 72 million tons of CO2 equivalent. Clean cooking technologies, including solar and LPG, are central to that effort.

But the push isn’t just about numbers. It’s about human lives.

“Clean cooking sits at the heart of Kenya’s broader development agenda,” says Collins Situma, clean cooking engineer at Miale Solar. “It touches on health, education, climate, and gender equality. When you walk into a school that has adopted LPG or solar cooking like, for instance, Kenswed Secondary, the cooks are happy with their environment. They can breathe. That’s dignity.”

Why LPG Isn’t Taking Root in Kwale

Still, the transition to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) has been slow, especially in counties like Kwale. Many schools remain wary of switching to LPG, citing rising global fuel prices and the risk of recurrent costs. Some schools that had started transitioning later reverted to wood due to the cost of refilling cylinders.

“LPG is clean, yes. But we had to cook beans with gas, the cylinder won’t last that long,” says a school cook in Gholini Mixed Secondary School in Kwale. “We would still have to pre-cook with firewood and only use gas to warm food. So, we stick to firewood.”

This hybrid approach of having gas and firewood is common across the country, particularly in schools across the Nyanza. It reflects the harsh economic realities of rural institutions. Fuel stacking, as experts call it, is a symptom of cost, not preference.

Miale Solar and KCB’s Green Lending Model as a Game Changer

Recognizing the urgency of the situation, Miale Solar has stepped forward with an innovative, solar-powered clean cooking solution tailor-made for schools in off-grid and semi-grid areas like Kwale. Unlike LPG, which relies on external supply chains, Miale’s solar cooking systems offer free, abundant energy once installed and are virtually maintenance-free for years. The equipment comes with reliable battery storage.

In partnership with Miale Solar and Mwalimu Express, KCB offers schools an accessible financing model. Under the agreement, KCB offers collateral-free green loans at an annual interest rate of 9.75 percent to eligible schools for a maximum of 7 years. Public schools can access as much as Ksh20 million in financiering. Private schools can get ksh10 million.

The longer schools wait to transition, the steeper the cost becomes. It’s not just about finances; it’s about student health, teacher wellbeing, and academic outcomes. Black soot on kitchen walls might seem normal now, but it is a sign of toxic air. This is an invisible burden on learners and staff.

Already, studies are linking indoor air pollution in schools to poor attention spans, missed school days, and even long-term respiratory damage.

If the Ministry of Education is serious about aligning with the Presidential Decree on Clean Cooking by 2028, then counties like Kwale need to act fast and leverage the support structures already in place.

Schools Have the Power to Lead

Clean cooking is no longer a dream. It’s a working reality in counties that have embraced county-level energy planning and partnered with private sector players like Miale Solar. But adoption isn’t just about installing stoves, it’s about leadership, awareness, and courage.

There are over 41 secondary schools in Kwale. Each school spends about US$30,000 year on firewood, on average, according to Africa Research & Impact Network (ARIN). Schools can from 250 to 360 tons of firewood annually, which causes a lot of emissions from the kitchen.

Also, the kitchen staff spend as much as 15 hours preparing meals, leading to inefficiencies. Cooks will have more time to spend with their families and the amount of emissions produced will be cut by at least 50% when once solar cookers are installed. As a result of a conducive learning atmosphere, students will have plenty of time to read and will also have room for inventiveness.

Kwale has a golden opportunity to be a model for others to show that decentralized, renewable energy solutions can work, even in remote areas.

And the stakes couldn’t be higher. Situma said, “Every day we delay, more children breathe in toxins that affect how they learn, how they grow, and how they live. That’s a cost we can no longer afford.”

A Call to Principals and Education Officers

Click the link to contact Miale Solar today to explore solar cooking solutions tailored for your school, or reach out to KCB to learn more about green financing for educational institutions.

Kenya’s schools are in critical need of a clean energy revolution. Some 90 percent of schools in the country still rely on firewood and charcoal as their primary cooking fuel. Statistics from the Ministry of Energy and the Clean Cooking Alliance reveal that this widespread dependency contributes to the cutting down of more than 10 million trees every year, much of it directly linked to school kitchens. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization estimates that indoor air pollution from solid fuels is responsible for over 23,000 premature deaths annually in Kenya, many of which occur among kitchen staff exposed to constant smoke.

Gloomy statistics

This crisis is not only environmental and health-related. It’s economic. Schools spend up to 30 percent of their annual operational budgets on cooking fuel, often with fluctuating firewood prices and unreliable supply chains. And despite government attempts to introduce LPG as an alternative, Miale Solar’s random survey across some schools in coastal and western Kenya reveal that school either revert, or are likely to revert, to firewood due to prohibitively high refilling costs and safety concerns.

Such forbidding statistics formed the backdrop of the recently concluded 48th Kenya Secondary School Heads Association (KESSHA) Conference, where over 7,000 school principals gathered to address the urgent need for sustainable energy solutions among other issues. Among the innovators answering the call was Miale Solar, a pioneering solar engineering firm already transforming kitchens in schools across Kenya with clean, affordable, and health-friendly cooking systems. At the conference, Miale Solar emerged not just as a participant, but as a pioneer in clean cooking in Kenyan schools.

For Miale Solar, clean cooking using solar energy is not a vision for the future.It is a growing movement, powered by research, engineered with precision, and aligned with the Competency-Based Education (CBE) framework that positions sustainability, innovation, and real-world problem solving at the core of Kenya’s education system.

The Truth in the Smoke

It’s one thing to speak about sustainability from a conference podium, and quite another to step into a school kitchen engulfed in smoke. That’s exactly what Miale Solar has done across counties. One such visit took the team to Bishop Linus Okok Girls and in Oyugis, where the kitchen staff gave disturbing accounts of daily exposure to thick, suffocating smoke from firewood stoves.

“We can barely breathe in the kitchen. The smoke also irritates eyes. We’re glad Miale is bringing solar cooking to our school,” lamented a staff member during the site visit.

This is not an isolated incident.

Across dozens of schools in Homa Bay, Oyugis, Mbita, Kisii, Mombasa and Kwale, Miale Solar has encountered similar scenes. Blackened walls, teary-eyed cooks, and a silent crisis that’s been normalized for too long.

The excessive reliance on firewood not only endangers health but also drives up costs and accelerates deforestation. according to Erick Naivasha, KCB’s Head of Sustainability, Kenyan schools are responsible for the cutting down of over millions of trees annually, an environmental and economic tragedy.

“We must act decisively to transition schools toward cleaner, cost-effective, and healthier energy sources. It is not only a sustainability issue; it’s a matter of health, cost efficiency, and climate responsibility,” Naivasha said.

In partnership with Miale Solar and Mwalimu Express, the Bank is spearheading a clean energy transition in schools across the country.

Innovation Based on Research

What sets Miale Solar apart is not just its technology. It’s the why behind it.

Miale’s clean cooking systems are the product of intensive on-ground research and engineering ingenuity, developed with the unique needs of schools in mind. From pressurized to non-pressurized solar cooking pots that drastically reduce firewood consumption, Miale has emerged as the go-to partner for schools seeking long-term energy solutions.

And as schools shift toward the CBE curriculum, which emphasizes sustainability and applied learning, Miale’s work becomes even more relevant.

“Our solutions do more than cook. They teach,” says Stephen Adwong’a, CEO at Miale, highlighting how Miale’s systems are integrated with STEM and environmental education, allowing students to understand real-world applications of clean energy.

Cost versus Reality of LPG

Despite government initiatives to promote LPG in public schools, adoption has been dismal. According to The Nation, the government’s resolution to endorse the use of LPG in public schools is a creditable “step forward; however, it remains unaffordable.”

“The reality on the ground is that LPG is expensive. Schools can’t sustain it,” said one principal during the KESSHA conference. “We start with it, but we always end up back to firewood.”

This cost dilemma leaves schools juggling between unaffordable gas and increasingly scarce firewood. In this energy gap, Miale Solar has planted a practical solution that reduces costs, improves health, and is scalable.

Research from Clean Cooking Alliance (2024) shows that schools that adopt clean cooking technologies see up to 40 percent savings on cooking fuel costs, while significantly reducing indoor air pollution, which contributes to chronic respiratory illness among kitchen staff.

Miale Fueling the Movement, KCB Financing the Future

Miale’s strategic partnership with Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Mwalimu Express is another game-changer.

At KESSHA, Mr. Naivasha made it clear: “We must act decisively to transition schools toward cleaner, cost-effective, and healthier energy sources. It is not only a sustainability issue; it’s a matter of health, cost efficiency, and climate responsibility.”

Through its Clean Energy in Schools Initiative, KCB is promoting solar power, biogas, and clean cooking alongside Miale Solar’s innovations. The bank is not just financing, it’s mobilizing a movement.

“KCB has supported over 5,000 students through sponsorship programmes, but more than that, we’re working to create sustainable learning environments,” Naivasha noted.

This partnership will allow schools to access affordable financing for clean energy systems, solving one of the biggest barriers to adoption, which is upfront cost.

The Growth of Interest

The KESSHA conference, which brought together over 7,000 principals and 1,000 education stakeholders, marked a turning point.

For the first time, clean cooking took center stage not just as a health or cost issue, but as a cornerstone of education reform under CBE. Principals from across the country spoke of the need to align sustainability with school operations, to prepare students not only for exams, but for the future.

And in the midst of this national discourse, Miale Solar stood tall with evidence, experience, and engineering.

As Kenya accelerates its transition to green energy in education, Miale Solar is miles ahead in the race. Not just because of its technology, but because of its vision, resolution, and commitment to solving real problems with real solutions.

Therefore

Miale Solar invites schools, county governments, and education stakeholders to be part of the clean energy transformation. Together with KCB and Mwalimu Express, the dream of clean cooking in every school kitchen is within reach.

When the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum released the Kenya National Electric Cooking Strategy (KNeCS) in 2024, the move was hailed as historic. Kenya became the first country in Africa to publish a national strategy aimed at replacing biomass with electric cooking.

Beneath the glowing headlines, a glaring oversight exists, one that threatens to derail the country’s clean energy transition.

The 2024 strategy, which lays out plans to convert at least 10% of household cooking to electricity by 2028, devotes almost no attention to institutional cooking. In an unobtrusive oversight, the strategy marginalizes a key sector that could dramatically accelerate national clean cooking goals, institutional kitchens schools, hospitals, prisons, universities, and boarding facilities across the country.

“We cannot decarbonize our kitchens by focusing on households alone,” says Stephen Adwong’a, CEO of Miale Solar, a clean energy company pioneering solar cooking technologies in Kenya. “Institutions are some of the biggest users of firewood and charcoal. Ignoring them is like trying to drain the ocean with a spoon.”

 

The Invisible Polluter in Plain Sight

While the KNeCS correctly identifies that 68% of Kenyan households still cook using firewood, charcoal, or kerosene, it does not offer a roadmap for how the country’s over 20,000 boarding schools, thousands of hospitals, and dozens of prisons should transition to electric or clean energy alternatives.

The current strategy acknowledges the potential of “institutional eCooking” but only as a research and development objective, without offering a roadmap for implementation or funding. This oversight undermines Kenya’s commitment to universal clean cooking accessby 2028 as envisioned in its Clean Cooking Compact.

Kenya’s schools, hospitals, prisons, and boarding facilities remain heavyweight consumers of biomass fuels. A 2018 Clean Cooking Alliance report and subsequent Ministry of Energy findings indicate that over 91% of schools still rely on firewood, and most health facilities and prisons cook using inefficient charcoal stoves or open fires.

Educational, health, and correctional institutions in Kenya commonly rely on traditional cooking fuels. The annual consumption of firewood in these institutions is estimated to be approximately 1.3 million tons. For an average primary school, the annual consumption is estimated to be between 64 tons and 164 tons when utilizing improved and traditional stoves, respectively leading to an annual consumption ranging from 2.8m and 6.9 million tons by 43,076 primary and 50 secondary schools in Kenya. These institutions consume tons of biomass weekly, contributing significantly to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions, yet they barely receive mention in the KNeCS.

But it’s not just environmental. Health is on the line too.

Institutional cooking doesn’t just pollute, it kills. A study by the Ministry of Health estimates that 21,500 Kenyans die prematurely each year due to indoor air pollution, much of it stemming from biomass cooking in enclosed spaces like school kitchens. A report from the Stockholm Environment Institute (2016) reveals that acute lower respiratory infections are the second leading cause of death in Kenya, accounting for 26% of all reported deaths in Kenyan hospitals. The health burden on kitchen staff is enormous and underreported.

Environmentally, the contribution is staggering. Biomass use in institutions accounts for a significant fraction of the 40% of national GHG emissions attributed to cooking, according to the KNeCS Baseline Study 2023. Moreover, schools in arid and semi-arid lands must often buy firewood at exorbitant prices or depend on illegal logging, accelerating land degradation.

Economically, schools and hospitals that rely on biomass cooking face rising costs and operational inefficiencies. Schools are by far the most significant consumers of fuel. About 90 percent of public schools use firewood for cooking and pay up to US$20,000 per year for the wood. This makes cooking fuel one of the biggest expenses in schools’ meal budgets.

Case of Kenswed School and the Miale Solar Model

While the government strategizes, Miale Solar is already doing. At Kenswed Secondary School in Ngong, Miale Solar implemented a pilot system combining grid-tied solar panels and electric pressure cookers. The school installed two 200-litre electric cooking pots, powered by a 24kW solar PV system.

The results were revolutionary. Cooking time reduced by at least 50%, and schools reported significant savings of between 20-50% in fuel costs. But more importantly, the intervention offered proof that solar-powered institutional cooking is not only viable, it’s transformative.

Kitchen air quality dramatically improved. Kitchen staff who once choked on smoke now operate in clean, quiet environments. “Now rice is ready in less than 15 minutes. And there’s no smoke,” says the school’s cook.

This is not just innovation, it’s transformation.

Lessons Afield. What Rwanda and Zambia Are Doing

Zimbabwe, under the UNDP’s Solar for Health program, is powering clinics and health centers, reducing their dependence on firewood for sterilization and food preparation.

Kenya is not alone in grappling with institutional energy needs.

Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation targets zero use of biomass in public institutions by 2030, with measurable progress already being made.

Zambia, with support from the World Bank, has begun solarizing rural schools and clinics as part of a national program—recognizing that reliable energy in schools not only improves learning but also improves teacher retention. Zambia has also initiated a clean energy transition in public schools, installing solar-powered systems in over 1,000 rural learning institutions.

Kenya risks falling behind these peers unless it expands its focus beyond household kitchens. KNeCS could be improved by drawing on these regional insights.

Why Ignoring Institutions is a Strategic Error for KNeCS

The KNeCS policy was a landmark document but one in need of revision. The lack of a dedicated institutional clean cooking framework ignores a sector with immense scalability potential. Transitioning just 5,000 schools to electric cooking could save thousands of acres of forest annually and dramatically reduce health risks for millions of children.

By omitting institutional kitchens from its electric cooking strategy, Kenya risks missing major carbon mitigation targets and sidelining a cost-effective public health intervention. It also risks failing to leverage economies of scale for appliance roll-out and overlooking one of the fastest routes to electricity demand growth

 “We are ready to scale,” says Adwong’a, “What we need now is a national framework that allows clean cooking for institutions to be seen as a public infrastructure priority, not an afterthought.”

Policy Recommendations

Miale recommends that a dual-track strategy is essential, one that combines household and institutional transitions. The benefits would cascade boosting demand for locally made appliances, reducing healthcare costs, empowering women in kitchen labor, and even stimulating electricity demand, thereby improving Kenya Power’s revenue base. The eCooking Transition Scenario in KNeCS already estimates a Ksh110 billion increase in utility revenue by 2028 with increased demand. Imagine the impact if KNeCs could have included institutions.

To correct this, the Ministry of Energy should consider revising the strategy to include clear targets for institutional clean cooking adoption and dedicated financing models for public schools and hospitals. It also needs to leverage public-private partnerships to scale solar and electric cooking, and the integration with national carbon reduction and climate finance mechanisms.

Recommending a Dual-Track Strategy

By pursuing a dual-track strategy, targeting both households and institutions, the country can cut emissions, reduce deforestation, protect public health, and improve food security — all while increasing energy access and utility revenue.

Institutions are like broadcasters in their communities. When a school cooks clean, an entire village will know, and takes note.

And as Miale Solar has proven, the technology exists. The models work. The pilots are successful. The next thing is scaling it.

Therefore…

The heart of Kenya’s electrification dream should beat not just in living rooms in the home. But in lunch halls, maternity wings, and prison kitchens. It’s time for Kenya to go beyond households by powering our institutions.

“Let us not forget: institutions shape generations. If we teach our children in classrooms heated by firewood smoke, we condition them to accept pollution as normal. But if we cook their meals in silence powered by the sun, we train them to expect innovation, dignity, and sustainability,” concludes Adwong’a.

The global energy sector currently undergoes a transformation at a pace few could have predicted a decade ago. According to the latest research by global energy thinktank Ember, clean energy sources accounted for over 40% of global electricity generation in 2024, the most visible energy revolution “not seen since the industrial expansions of the 1940s.” Among these, solar farms have emerged as the world’s fastest-growing source of electricity, underlining a profound shift in the global energy matrix.

Stephen Adwong’a, Miale Solar’s chief executive, said: “Solar power has gradually transformed into the engine of the global energy transition. When combined with battery storage, solar is becoming an inexorable force. We have seen that it is the fastest-growing and, without a doubt, the largest source of clean energy making it the force that will meet the world’s ever-growing demand for electricity.”

In general, solar power remains a comparatively small fragment of the global energy system. It comprises nearly 7% of the world’s electricity, as of 2024, according to Ember. Wind power makes up nearly 8% of the global power system.

Current trends in Kenya

Nowhere is this shift more noticeable, or more urgent, than in Kenya. Traditionally considered a leader in geothermal energy, Kenya has begun making significant investments in solar infrastructure. As of December 2024, solar energy contributed 3.5% to the country’s electricity generation mix, while geothermal accounted for 41.7%. Though modest in proportion, the growth trajectory for solar is steep. The country’s average annual generation per unit of installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity ranges from 1400-1600 kWh per kilowatt-peak (kWp). Statistics from Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows that solar power generated  climbed to a record 492.48 million kWh in 2023 as a result of the rising number of solar farms, marking an increase of around 28% from the output a year earlier.

Nationally, strategic projects have strengthened this expansion. The Malindi Solar Power Station, commissioned in 2022, contributes 52MW to the national grid, and 40MW Alten Kenya solarfarms plant in Uasin Gishu, commissioned in 2023. Others include the upcoming Kisumu Solar Power Station, which will add another 40MW upon its commissioning in 2025. Additionally, KenGen’s innovative 42.5MW floating solar farm at Kamburu Dam signals new technical approaches to optimizing renewable assets.

Miale Solar is spearheading transformative solar farm initiatives across Kenya, directly impacting critical sectors such as water access, healthcare, agribusiness, and residential development. At the Naivasha Water & Sanitation Company, Miale installed a 1.23 MWp Grid-Tie Solar PV solar farm, which powers Naivasha’s water and sanitation services and is financed through a 12-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

Other farms Miale developed include a 402 kWp Grid-Tie Solar PV System generating 619,929 kWh yearly for Home Kena quarry in Kajiado County. Meanwhile, Van Den Berg Roses and Shalimar Flowers, major horticultural exporters, now enjoy improved energy efficiency and carbon footprint reductions, thanks to customized solar installations tailored to the demanding energy needs of flower farming and cooling systems. These projects are financed through flexible options like lease-to-own agreements and long-term PPAs, reinforcing Miale’s commitment to scalable, green energy access.

Case studies at Miale Solar have made it even possible to identify the drivers behind Kenya’s solar. They include increasing electricity demand, rising grid costs, and the need for decentralized energy solutions that can reach rural and peri-urban communities. With over 75% of Kenya’s landmass enjoying an average of 4-6 peak sun hours per day, there is no doubt that solar remains a realistic choice.

Solar Growth in a Continental Context

Africa’s embrace of solar technology is gaining momentum, although at a slower pace compared to global counterparts. In 2024, the continent added 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar capacity, bringing total installations to 19.2GW. According to current projections, Africa could double its capacity by adding an extra 23GW by 2028.

However, scaling solar across Africa faces persistent structural challenges. The capital cost of solar projects in Africa remains three to seven times higher than in mature energy markets. Although clean energy investment across Africa doubled to $40 billion in 2024, the continent still attracted just 3% of global energy investment flows.

This financing gap stems largely from perceptions of higher political and currency risks, limited project bankability, and underdeveloped domestic capital markets. Consequently, although Africa boasts 60% of the world’s best solar resources, it accounts for less than 1% of installed global solar capacity.

If this imbalance persists, Africa risks missing an opportunity to advance to a decentralized, low-carbon energy future. This kind of future is increasingly essential for both climate resilience and economic competitiveness.

Strategic Imperatives for Kenya and African Markets

For Kenya’s leading solar developers like Miale Solar, the focus remains on delivering projects that not only meet growing energy demands but do so affordably, reliably, and sustainably. Miale’s experience shows that Kenyan commercial and industrial customers (C&I) customers tend to focus on hybrid solutions, which includes integrating solar with storage and mini-grid infrastructure, to support both grid-tied and off-grid clientele.

For policymakers, investors, and corporate leaders, the implications are clear. The opportunity for solar development in the continent, specifically in high-irradiance markets like Kenya, is both economically and strategically compelling.

First, according to Adwong’a, solar energy offers the potential for energy security and price stability. Kenya’s overreliance on hydropower and geothermal exposes it to hydrological risks and geological limitations, respectively. Solar farms, on the other hand, says Adwong’a, provide a scalable and modular alternative capable of being rapidly deployed to meet surging demand in urban and rural areas alike.

Second, as highlighted by DNS Africa, solar investments align closely with corporate ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) priorities. International investors, especially those headquartered in Europe and North America, are increasingly directing capital toward renewable energy projects in alignment with their net-zero commitments.

Third, from a national economic perspective, local solar development drives job creation, particularly in engineering, construction, and maintenance. The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) estimates that the renewable energy sector could create more than 2 million jobs in Africa by 2030 if current trends accelerate.

Policy and Investment Instruments

According to Adwong’a, several policy interventions could accelerate the growth of solar farms in Kenya and the broader African market. These include regulatory streamlining to shorten permitting and interconnection timelines. According to a research by Ember, other measures for acceleration include financial de-risking tools such as loan guarantees and blended finance mechanisms, and support for local manufacturing of solar panels and components to reduce import reliance and stimulate domestic industries. A growing body of research collated by African Development Bank (AfDB), has also emphasized capacity-building programs to develop local expertise in solar engineering and project management.

International development institutions and green finance initiatives, including Africa50, the AfDB, and the World Bank’s Scaling Solar Program, have already started implementing such measures, but scaling these efforts will be critical.

Therefore…

Solar farms are no longer a speculative vision for Africa, as case studies from Miale Solar shows they are becoming the foundation for the continent’s clean energy future. In Kenya, significant progress is being made yet the journey is far from complete. With the right blend of policy support, private-sector investment, and community engagement, solar energy could not only meet Africa’s rising energy demands but position the continent as a leader in sustainable development. As the global energy landscape shifts, Kenya and Africa have an extraordinary opportunity. They can power their future not with imported fuels, but with the abundant sun above them. At Miale Solar, we are proud to be part of that future by developing solar solutions for C&I clientele content-wide.