Solar Energy Potential in Marsabit County
According to data from the Global Solar Atlas, Marsabit County possesses substantial solar energy potential, with the highest resource availability observed in the central and western regions of the county.
The solar potential is represented through the Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) metric, which quantifies the long-term solar energy available at a given location. GHI represents the total of direct and diffuse solar radiation received by a horizontal surface and is measured in kilowatt-hours per square meter (kWh/m²).
As illustrated in Figure 2.3-1, Marsabit County records long-term average GHI values ranging between 1,763 and 2,443 kWh/m² per year, with a county-wide mean of approximately 2,205 kWh/m² per year. These values indicate strong potential for grid-connected solar generation, off-grid systems, and hybrid renewable energy solutions, making Marsabit a viable location for solar investment and development.
Technical Potential for Rooftop Solar PV Installations
The technical potential for rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) installations in Marsabit County was assessed using spatial data derived from building footprints available through the Open Buildings Insights (OBI) platform.
Open Buildings Insights is a cloud-based geospatial solution developed by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) in collaboration with IBM. It leverages machine learning algorithms to accurately identify and map building footprints while providing key structural and energy-related attributes at the building level. These include rooftop area, building height, type classification (residential or non-residential), estimated electricity access status, and potential electricity demand (SEforALL & IBM, 2024).
For Marsabit County, the building footprint dataset extracted from OBI was analyzed and spatially mapped to determine the aggregate rooftop area suitable for solar PV installation. This assessment provides an estimate of the total feasible surface area that can accommodate rooftop solar systems, forming a critical input for evaluating the county’s distributed solar generation potential.
Solar potential for thermal applications
Solar water heating in Healthcare facilities
The specific daily hot water demand per hospital bed is assumed to be 50 litres based on the solar water heating regulations.
Given that the average annual Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) in Marsabit County ranges between 1,763 and 2,443 kWh/m² per year, the corresponding daily solar irradiation is estimated at 4.83–6.69 kWh/m² per day. Based on these values, a 20 m² solar water heating (SWH) unit with a 1,000-litre capacity could harness approximately 96.6–133.8 kWh of energy daily.
This analysis indicates that Marsabit County’s solar resource is sufficient to sustainably power solar water heating systems, particularly for institutional applications such as health facilities, where reliable hot water supply is essential for operations and service delivery.
| Year | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 459,785 | 503,389 | 539,101 | 565,091 |
| Total hospital beds | 356.4 | 393.3 | 424.5 | 445 |
| Daily hot water demand (litres) | 17,821.1 | 19,663.6 | 21,224.4 | 22,247.7 |
| Number of units (20m2/1000l) | 17.8 | 19.7 | 21.2 | 22.2 |
| Installed total Collector area (m2) | 356.4 | 393.3 | 424.5 | 445 |
| Total power requirement (kWh) | 712.00 | 788.00 | 848.00 | 848.00 |
Solar water heating for Education facilities
The assessment considered all pre-school, primary, and secondary schools within Marsabit County. Although the county hosts several Colleges, Vocational Training Centres, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Centres, and Teacher Training Colleges, data on student enrolment for these higher learning institutions was not available at the time of analysis. Consequently, these facilities were excluded from the estimation of solar water heating (SWH) demand.
To determine the total hot water requirement, the number of enrolled students was multiplied by the daily per-student hot water consumption rate of 5 litres, as stipulated in national regulations. This calculation provided the aggregate daily hot water demand for educational institutions across the county.
The student enrolment figures, sourced from the Marsabit County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) 2023–2027, are presented in Table 2.3-6, alongside the corresponding hot water requirements and the estimated number of solar water heating systems required to meet this demand.
| Education Institution | Enrolled Students | Liters of Hot Water Required (5L daily/student) | SWHs Units Required (20m2/1000L) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-School | 47,241 | 236,205.00 | 236.205 |
| Primary School | 118,252 | 591,260.00 | 591.26 |
| Secondary School | 81,727 | 408,635.00 | 408.635 |
| Totals | 247,220 | 1,236,100.00 | 1,236 |
Applying the same methodology used for healthcare facilities, it is estimated that each solar water heating (SWH) system requires approximately 40 kW to heat 1,000 litres of water. Based on this parameter, the total energy demand for all SWH units serving pre-primary and basic education institutions in Marsabit County amounts to approximately 49,440 kW.
Given the county’s daily Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) levels ranging between 4.83 and 6.69 kWh/m², each 20 m² SWH unit can harness an estimated 96.6–133.8 kWh of solar energy per day, against the 40 kWh heating requirement. This clearly demonstrates that Marsabit County’s solar resource is sufficient to meet the water heating energy needs of the education sector through solar thermal systems, supporting both sustainability and energy efficiency objectives within institutional facilities.
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