Kenya engineer, November-December 2013 by kenya Engineer

Contents News.........................................................03 Oil Games......................................................20 Energy ......................................................... 23

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Cover Story .................................................. 26 Power Safety ................................................33 Profile ..........................................................37 Innovation ....................................................39 IEK ...............................................................49

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23. 1 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

A Definitive Publication of Engineers in East Africa & Beyond, since 1972

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER2013 Editorial Board: M Kashorda - Chairperson AA McCorkindale - Outgoing Chair N O Booker - Secretary J Mutulili F W Ngokonyo J N Kariuki S M Ngare A Muhalia A W Otsieno S K Kibe M Majiwa Editorial Assistants: Peninah Njakwe Daisy Gakuu Kevin Achola Editors: Articulate Edits Design & Layout: Daniel Wakaba Ndung’u Sales & Marketing: Joyce Ndamaiyu Phylis Muthoni Teresa Atieno Oliver Elman

Editor’s Note

new energy landscape is emerging, with potentially far-reaching consequences. For instance there is resurgence in oil and gas production in countries like USA and a retreat from Nuclear power in some other countries. Back at home, in Kenya, there are efforts to delve into nuclear energy while at the same time sustaining spirited efforts to fully explore our potential in geothermal energy. In either case, it is important to assess how these new developments might affect energy and climate trends over the coming decades. Kenya Engineer’s last issue of the year takes a focus into the Energy sector. It is with this regard that our writers have focused on three main challenges: meeting the ever-growing energy needs; providing energy access to the poor; and meeting climate change objectives. Despite the growth in low-carbon sources of energy, fossil fuels remain dominant in the energy mix. Energy efficiency is widely recognized as a key option in the hands of policy makers but current efforts fall short of tapping its full economic potential. We have conclusively covered the topic of energy efficiency in this issue. Our writers have also provided an outlook of the Energy industry in Kenya through their articles: Energy consumption patterns; Kenya’s Prospect in nuclear energy generation; The past, present and future of Kenya’s Power Sector; and Oil Industry embraces Gamification to spark more global interest. I believe we have all had a good run in the year and will definitely end it well. I take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported this publication through advertisement, subscription, editorial contributions, feedback on our work and in any other way throughout the year.

I wish you a happy festive season and a prosperous New year

Published by:

P O Box 45754-00100 Nairobi Tel: 4443649/50/72, Cell: 0719 207 712 Fax: 4443650 Email: info@kenyaengineer.co.ke/ newsdesk@kenyaengineer.co.ke

A A McCorkindale – (Outgoing) Chairman Editorial Board Next issue will be out by 1st January, 2014

Correspondence should be addressed to the Institution. Kenya Engineer is published every two months. Views expressed in this Journal are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Institution.

©Copyright: Reproduction of any article in part or in full is strictly prohibited without written permission from the Institution of Engineers of Kenya. Disclaimer: To our readers, verify all the advertised courses with Engineers Board of Kenya. KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

Kenya - Tanzania partner to exploit geothermal energy

enya and Tanzania in early August signed a bi-lateral agreement for geothermal exploitation in Tanzania. The bilateral partnership that commenced in October this year will see to the two countries joining hands to exploit renewable energy, geothermal, in a deal said to benefit the two parties. Tanzania boasts East Africa’s longest volcanic rift, but it has not yet exploited sources of geothermal energy that lie there. The country has at least 50 sites with the potential to produce 650 megawatts of power, according to a November 2012 Status Report by the Geological Survey of Tanzania. Speaking to Sabahi, an online news forum, GDC’s (Geothermal Development C o m p a n y ) R u t h W. M u s e m b i s a i d t h a t t h e b i l a t e ra l p a r t n e r s h i p w i l l start with Tanzania sending four top geologists for extensive training at Kenya’s exploration company, GDC. “ T h e n u m b e r o f Ta n z a n i a n scientists receiving training at GDC w i l l i n c r e a s e a s t h e i r c o u n t r y ’s geothermal projects expand”, she added. Kenya will also assist in conducting micro-seismic studies, drilling and environmental studies as well as sampling of

• Olkaria IV Power Plant

geothermal samples in its labs here in Kenya. Tanzania’s choice to partner with Kenya in such a noble course as far as energy is concerned, is attributed to Kenya’s success in geothermal exploitation which though not fully exploited, has made big strides towards the use of the nature-given-energy. “Since Kenya has more than 50 years of experience in geothermal sector, the two countries will collaborate on other issues like drafting geothermal legal policies and a regulatory framework, which is the priority area before issuance of geothermal exploration permits,” notes Ms.Musembi.

Kenya boasts being the home of the first geothermal power plant in Africa, Olkaria I generating 45 megawatts of power. The power plant is however not in operation at the moment pending feasibly study on whether it should get an overhaul or be shut down and pave way for a new plant. Kenya is also home of the Olkaria II Power Station which currently is Africa’s largest geothermal power station generating 70 megawatts. This is however soon to change following the completion of the 280MW Olkaria IV which is scheduled for completion next year.

Protect us - Investors urge Kenyan government

layers in Kenya’s energy sector expressed discontentment with the current power tariffs set in the country. Foreign investors present during a public Q/A session in the launch of the

• A Power substation

5000+MW project in September cited concern in regard to the tariffs but the CS for Energy, Hon. Davis Chirchir assured them that the Government is looking into the issue. One Ngengi Muigai, an investor in energy also echoed concern saying that investors are scared o f i nve s t i n g i n t h e s e c t o r owing to the long time taken in processing documents. Th e p r e s i d e n t h o w e v e r assured the investors that the g ove r n m e n t wo u l d c r e a t e industrial zones in the vicinity of power plants. The investors would then be provided with power at concessionary rates in these zones. “My Government will take deliberate steps to encourage

3 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

investments through the country and create demand for uptake of power”, promised the president in his speech read out by Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization. Ngengi also urged the government to protect them from the public who at times are out to fleece their money. The main challenge facing the electricity supply sector as indicated by MoE is inadequate generation capacity arising from insufficient investment in power generation. The country’s dependence on hydro energy which equates to 50 per cent of the existing capacity is also cited as a drawback to the energy sector. Noting the profitable aspect of the energy sector, the president urged the private sector investors to take up the challenge to develop the bulk 5000MW capacity.

NEWS

Kenya Launches 5000+MW Energy Project

n commemoration of the Energy day in an event held at the Kenyatta International Conference Center(KICC) in September, organized by Kenya’s Ministry of Energy (MoE), the Government of Kenya launched an ambitious plan to develop over 5000 mega watts energy. The event themed “5000+ Mega watts for transforming Kenya” attracted various players in the energy sector among them, foreign investors and global funders. The project launched by the President, H.E Uhuru Kenyatta in absentia is the largest single initiative undertaken to critically address the challenges facing the county’s energy sector. In his speech read out by the Cabinet Secretary for Industrialization, he pointed that it was a major step in shift from unreliable hydro and expensive thermal based power generation to reliable green and cheaper natural gas and large scale coal fired power plants. “This shift in critical in … ensuring affordable and competitive cost of electricity to spur economic growth and thus help trap investments…”, said the president. The country currently has a generation capacity of up to 1664.1MW which with the implementation of this project will see the capacity rise to over 5000MW by 2016.This capacity will be mainly developed from Geothermal (1,646MW),natural gas (1,050MW),Wind (630MW) and coal (1,920MW).There’s also expected input from government power utilities and IPPs under the PPP framework. “ Th e r e q u i r e d t r a n s m i s s i o n w i l l b e d e v e l o p e d by t h e G ove r n m e n t ” , n o t e s t h e M o E i n a s t a t e m e n t . The project is expected to reduce electricity generation fuel costs from the current $26-26 cents to less than $6.51 per unit of electricity. MoE also notes, “The generation cost in US$ cents is projected to reduce from 11.30 to 7.41, commercial/industrial tariff from 14.14 to 9.00 and domestic tariff from cents 19.78 to 10.45”.

• High Voltage Power Transmission Line

Laying out of Kenya-Ethiopia transmission line set to begin in December

here have been ongoing plans to see Kenya importing power from Ethiopia. Plans to connect the two countries via grid are underway w i t h t h e t ra n s m i s s i o n l i n e p r o j e c t set to begin in December this year. The project launched in May this year by African Development Bank(AfDB) will see to the setting out of 1,068-kilometre high-voltage electricity highway from Ethiopia to Kenya. The project will see to Kenya importing 2,000 megawatts from Ethiopia. However, the country will for starters import 400 megawatts. The US$1.26B project which was scheduled for completion in less than five years involves the construction of

transmission lines of about 437 km in Ethiopia and about 631 km in Kenya and associated AC/DC converter stations at Wolayta-Sodo (Ethiopia) and Suswa (Kenya) substations with a transfer capacity of up to 2,000 MW in either direction. On the Kenyan side, funding for the project is secured and they are currently liaising with land owners where the line will pass, the way route. Ethiopia earlier this year diverted the River Nile to allow construction of the Sh$4.7 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam from where Kenya will import power. The hydroelectric dam once complete will have a full capacity of up to 6,000 megawatts power.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

Kenya’s 40 - months geothermal plan

he 5000+MW power project is not the only ambitious energy prospect by the country. The government has announced plans to develop a total of 1,646 mega watts of geothermal power in forty months. This, though a bit ambitious, the Kenyan president, Uhuru Kenyatta, who launched the 5000+MWA power project pointed that it was achievable.

He pointed that this would ensure escalating geothermal power production and ensuring that it played a more significant role in meeting the total e l e c t r i c i t y d e m a n d i n t h e c o u n t r y. The government is also seeking to invest in other cheaper and available energy sources among them coal and natural gas. ”Introduction of large scale natural gas and coal fired plants in

the 480MW range will also bring in unprecedented economies of scale in power generation…” noted the president. There’s only 240MW of geothermal power exploited in the country o u t o f t h e p o s s i b l e 1 0 , 0 0 0 M W.

Quality of Life, Our Responsibility;FIDIC Centenary Conference 2013

ig things are set for Kenya in 2016 as it was announced that the 2016 FIDIC conference will be held in Nairobi. This was during the FIDIC General Assembly held on the last day of the three-day FIDIC Centenary Conference in Barcelona, Spain at the PALAU DE CONGRESSOS DE CATALUNYA from the 15th to 18th September, 2013. The theme for the Conference was Quality Of Life: Our Responsibility and was held. The Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure, Eng. John Mosonik, led the Kenya delegation

comprising: the Association of Consulting Engineers of Kenya (ACEK) members led by their Chairman, Eng. Kariuki Muchemi, Eng. James Mwangi (Hon. Secretary), Eng. Henry Ndugah (Hon. Treasurer), Eng. Sam Mambo (Immediate Past Chairman), Council members Eng. J. Matu and Eng. Joel Wanyoike, who is also the Chairman of the Kenya Roads Board (KRB). Other members of the delegation included Eng. Ruwa (General Manager, Kenya Roads Board) and Eng. Maganda (Abdul Mullick Associates) and a team from Kenya’s Ministry of Regional Development Authorities.

• Eng. Ruwa (KRB), Eng. J. Matu, Eng. K. Muchemi, Eng. J. Mosonik (Principal Secretary, Ministry of Transport & Infrastructure), Eng. J. Wanyoike (Chairman KRB). Eng. S. Mambo, Eng. J. Mwangi, Eng. H. Ndugah

5 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Eng. John Mosonik also made a presentation on project financing from a client perspective available on www. fidic2013.org amongst other presentations. This year’s conference also marked FIDIC’s 100 years of its existence. The key speakers included: Bob Geldof, a humanitarian, pop-star, broadcaster and businessman. He gave a presentation on his own experiences and lessons learned from Live Aid; David Coulthard who is a former Formula One racing driver who retired with a record of the highest scoring British driver of all time. He is now a BBC TV Formula One commentator and a team consultant for Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso; Mark Gallagher who has worked in Formula One for almost 30 years and has spent the last 15 working as senior executive within the management of Jordan Grand Prix, Red Bull Racing and Cosworth. Lastly, Snowy Joyce Khohza also spoke. She is the CEO at Bigen Africa and has more than 30 years senior management experience and has been a development activist since 1976. She chairs the Trans Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) Board as the first black woman to chair this multi-billion rand organization. She is also the founding chair of the continental Knowledge Management Africa (KMA). The 2014 Annual FIDIC conference will be held in Rio De Jeneiro, Brazil in September 28th to 1st October 2014.

NEWS

Kuwa Shujaa Campaign set to ward off Vandals

enya Power incurs a cost of Sh3 billion per year replacing vandalized transformers and cables, occasioned by rising demand for copper wires in the market whose price is quite attractive. Orange Kenya loses up to 500 million every year through damage of its overheads, underground copper cables, and the newly installed fiber optic cables. These are just a few of the companies affected by vandalism in Kenya with others being Safaricom, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, KETRACO, Kenya National Highways Authority, Kenya Airports Authority among others. Brand Masters Agency has launched the ‘Kuwa Shujaa’ Campaign in a response to the problem of vandalism that has affected a range of infrastructure developments across various economic sectors. The campaign brings together stakeholders from among those sectors worst affected by vandalism to co-ordinate their efforts to combat it. ‘Kuwa Shujaa’ is a public awareness campaign, seeking to change the public’s attitude to vandalism by making consumers aware of the impact of vandalism on their communities and exposing and isolating vandals for their anti-social behavior. In a media awareness breakfast meeting held at Serena Hotel earlier this year, Fridah Musyimi, the Campaign Secretary,

BrandMasters Agency said, ‘It is important for the media to be involved as they play a crucial role in advocacy in Kenya and therefore bringing them aboard is expected to play a positive role in fighting vandalism.’ The media awareness breakfast was the first of a series of anti vandalism initiatives lined up by BrandMasters Agency for the year. Eng. Charles Okeyo, General Manager Maintenance from Kenya National Highway Authority (KeNHA) said that they have so far spent about 32 Billion on the Thika Super Highway on replacing vandalized road infrastructure and the destruction is still recurring. “There has been a lot of damage to these facilities, the rails and other metallic things have been broken and taken to scrap metal dealers, these actions are done mainly at night when there is minimal supervision,” he said. Some of the strategies that were suggested to help combat vandalism include use of informers, this will help gather information that could be used in the court of law; giving stiff penalties to offenders like 3 year imprisonment; establishing Anti-Vandalism Police unit so as to safe guard the affected areas; community involvement & public awareness and the tougher regulation of the scrap metal sector among others. Mr. Patrick Mbogo, Network Planning and Optimization, Liquid Telecom former Kenya Data Networks also said, ‘There’s a

need to have a campaign against vandalism that will involve the government, media, stakeholders and the public.’ Vandalism of service infrastructure has targeted cables, meters, transformers and manhole covers among other items. In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Express, Ndungu Njoroge, Project Manager for AccessKenya Group said, “AccessKenya spends an average of Sh2.5 million for cable maintenance monthly and further petitioned the government to act further in supporting ICT infrastructure through compensation for damaged cables and stiffer penalties for culprits.”The second and third phase of the ‘Kuwa Shujaa’ campaign by BrandMasters Agency will involve Sectorial Meetings & Multi Stakeholder Conferences as well as a Lobbying Campaign. Vandalism of service infrastructure is one of the biggest contributors to inefficiencies and market failures for electricity and water supply, communication and security. Cable vandalism for instance, not only affects the proper functioning of a communications network, it also causes inconvenience to users of that system, as well as impacting negatively on national revenue and on the proper functioning of the country’s emergency services. In conclusion, the problem of vandalism is related to socioeconomic conditions in the country and requires a political and economic strategy both at the government and corporate level.

• A Fibre Optic Cable

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

Toyota spearheads regional oil pipeline construction

oyot a Tsusho h a s a n n o u n c e d plans to start laying down an oil pipeline that will serve South Sudan and Uganda’s oil exports via Kenya. Toyota Tsusho is spearheading the 2,000 kilometer pipeline project with investments expected to total to more than $5 billion. Toyota Tsusho East Africa Ltd and the three governments will establish a joint special purpose company possibly within this year for the construction and maintenance of the new pipelines. One of the pipelines will transport oil from South Sudan to the Kenyan port of Lamu, allowing South Sudan to bypass the existing pipeline going northward to a Red Sea port via Sudan with which it has kept strained ties since its independence in 2011 following a two-decade-old civil war. The Ugandan government is joining the new company as Toyota Tsusho plans to connect the South Sudan-Kenya pipeline with another from western Uganda.

Top Oil explorers could sell stakes in Kenya finds easily triple by the end of next year, using any reasonable risk on the wells we’re drilling. Africa Oil on 3rd September increased more than six fold its estimate for gross contingent resources to 368 million barrels of oil. The partners are ready to start pumping crude as soon as next year after discovering first oil last year. “We’re talking probably 18 months to two years from now, until we’ve drilled enough wells to feel confident enough about what we have,” that “we can attract a partner on terms that we’d find acceptable,” Hill said.

percent stake in the South Lokichar Basin fields in Northern Kenya and may sell 40 percent to 50 percent of the combined assets to “a multinational” company.

Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer, Keith Hill pointed that each company holds a 50

According to a report by Bloomberg, Hill notes that Interest in buying a stake may rise because the oil resource estimate could

eading oil explores, Africa O i l a n d Tu l l ow O i l p l c h ave announced that they may sell as much as half of their fields in Kenya to a strategic partner to share costs.

7 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Africa has been in talks with some interested companies, Hill said, declining to name any. A possible partner would have to offer “a big premium” to compensate for reserves that have yet to be found, he said. Kenya may become East Africa’s first oil-exporting nation as soon as 2016 after the companies increase oil production, Tullow Chief Operating Officer Paul McDade had said in July.

NEWS

Kenya seeks Nigeria’s support, offers 46 Oil blocks deals to increase investment in the sector. According to Business Day, Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke made the disclosure adding that the partnership was one of the seven MoUs and bilateral Agreements signed by delegates of both countries at the maiden Nigeria-Kenya Investment Forum last week. • President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, with President Uhuru Kenyatta “ Ke nya k n ow s t h a t it only makes sense that ew East African oil player, Kenya we exchange agreement has partnered with Nigeria, in cooperation to hand over knowledge, Africa’s largest oil producer to capabilities and experience learnt. help it build a sustainable framework for They want various templates that we its premature energy industry while offering have formulated, sort of templates that 46 newly discovered oil blocks to Nigerian form Petroleum Industry Bill among investors as prospective concession others,” Diezani Alison-Madueke said.

She added: “They are very keen that Nigerian operators in the upstream, midstream and downstream service sectors of the oil and gas industry look to Kenya as a frontier for investments in the oil and gas sector.They are also very keen that we robustly support them in setting up the right framework, policies and processes and technology to help them drive the exploration activities.” Nigerian industrialists and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote who led the Nigerian delegate which included Forte Oil and Zenon Oil CEO Femi Otedola and Honeywell Group Chairman, Oba Otudeko, said a number of Nigerian investors would be willing to invest in the oil sector in Kenya. In 2012, Africa Oil, a Canadian oil and gas company together with British explorer, Tullow Oil Plc discovered rich hydro-carbon reserves in Kenya. They put its estimate at 368 million barrels, a level capable of commercial exploitation.

Ekales-1 Oil Discovery in Kenya

ullow Oil plc announced that the Ekales-1 wildcat, located in Block 13T in Northern Kenya, made a new oil discovery. Results of drilling, wireline logs and samples of reservoir fluid indicate a potential net oil pay in the Auwerwer and Upper Lokone sandstone reservoirs of between 60 and 100 metres. Future flow testing aims to confirm productivity from these zones. This is the fourth consecutive wildcat discovery, in the first oil basin opened in Northern Kenya, since our drilling commenced in 2012. The Ekales-1 well is located between the Ngamia-1 and Twiga South-1 oil discoveries and the reservoir properties at this location appear similar to those previously encountered. Once operations have completed the rig will move to drill the exploration prospect Amosing-1 south of Ngamia-1.

Tullow operates the Ekales-1 well and Africa Oil (50%) has a non-operated interest. Elsewhere in Kenya, the Agete-1 well, also in Block 13T, commenced drilling in mid-September and it is expected that a third rig will be operational in Q4 2013. “This success at the Ekales-1 wildcat is further evidence of the exceptional oil potential of our East African Rift Basin acreage,” said Angus McCoss, Exploration Director, Tullow Oil plc in September. Additionally, Apache Corp, an American independent oil and gas corporation, in October relinquished its 50 percent stake in Kenya’s offshore L8 Block. The firm announced closure of works on an offshore block following an unsuccessful adventure.

The block encountered non-commercial q u a n t i t i e s o f g a s i n t h e M b awa - 1 block. The American firm had recently committed to drill a follow-up wildcat at the Kipungu prospect next year in the block, where it is partnered by UK player Tullow Oil and Australia’s Pancontinental.

• A land Oil Rig model

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

County governements summoned to support the county connectivity project on internet service providers by county governments could hinder faster connectivity across the country. “Moving the fibre across the country has been a matter of concern. As national government, we ask ourselves • ICT Expo at Central Park, Nanyuki what policy enyan Governors have been sacrifices we have to make to ensure there urged to develop infrastructure, is a connection in all counties. There is need data and applications necessary to support this course, said Dr. Matiang’i. to simplify the installation process and Currently, the focus is on the County enable ease in network connectivity Connectivity Project (CCP), a twoin their counties. This was appealed at phased scheme that an official of CCP, the ICT Expo held from the 4th to 6th of Mr. Thomas Odhiambo speaking at the September at Central Park in Nanyuki Kenya summit confirmed has provided the sponsored by Safaricom, Technobrain, “last mile” which provides 155 megabits Orange and eManage that consolidated per second (mbps) to accelerate fibre more than 45 County ICT executives. n e t wo r k c o n n e c t iv i t y i n a l l a r e a s . The summit functions as a platform “CCP has provided the last mile to for consultation, collaboration, capacity give the people a means to access the building and knowledge sharing between fibre network,” said Mr. Odhiambo. the government and the ICT sector Dr. Matiang’i also said that it was with a view of linking and hastening the responsibility of the county implementation of government IT governments to facilitate the provision projects to world-class standard. of last mile connection to give more Present at the summit was the Kenyan Kenyans affordable internet services. ICT Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang’i, who The summit marked two weeks since warned that the high way-leaves charged

the Belgium Government injected KSh 1.2 billion into the ICT sector meant to cater for Phase II of the project. “The completion of Phase II which consists of connecting the remaining 19 counties is underway,’’ Mr. Odhiambo added. At the moment, Phase I of the project connecting 28 counties including; Nyeri, Machakos, Laikipia, Isiolo, Meru amid others has been completed with fibre network consisting of 70 different sites. The completion of Phase I focused on civil registration, which comprises of births and deaths registrations and finance in particular counties. Mr. Odhiambo noted CCP is on a mission to deliver a state of the art network operation centre which will monitor the network usage in the whole country. However, given the high wayleaves being charged by the counties, this poses as a challenge to companies interested in laying the fibre in the country. “We want to have a conversation with county governments to try to help them understand the benefits accrued from a supportive environment so that we can grow infrastructure. If we levy heavy fees, we are going to affect the movement of infrastructure,” said Dr. Matiang’i. The project is set to provide video conferencing facilities for county commissioners and high bundles for broadband connections to enable civil servants and the public at large to access high speed internet.

$27M to improve water supply and sanitation

he African Development Fund (ADF) has invested a total of about US$ 27 million to support the improvement of water supply and sanitation services in urban, peri-urban and rural communities, under Kenya’s Rift Valley Water Services Board’s jurisdiction. The project components include Institutional support of the water and sanitation service provider and Water and Sanitation infrastructure investments. Nakuru, Kenya’s fourth largest city

is a beneficiary of the coffers given by African Development Bank. According to AfDB, the city suffered unreliable water supply and sanitation services which resulted in scaling down and ultimate relocation of industries, resulting in high incidence of water-borne diseases. “Nakuru has now increased its water supply from less than 30,000 m3/day to 50,000m3/day, providing 18 hours of water supply, up from less than 6 hours a day thanks

9 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

to the project.”, reads a statement by AfDB. The county The Governor of Nakuru County has also launched a sewer project that is aimed at reducing waste disposal within the county. The project will see to the improvement of hygienic conditions of markets and their surroundings. The county government has set aside sh25 million to purchase a bulldozer for the county.

NEWS

Regional leaders officiate opening of Berth 19

ast African regional leaders on 8th August came together to witness the official opening of one of East Africa’s major projects at the Port of Mombasa, Berth 19.President Uhuru was accompanied by Ugandan president, Yoweri Museveni among other delegates from the East African region. The berth 19 whose construction was launched in July 2011 culminated in March this year at an estimated cost of $66.7 million. The change of guard in Kenya however delayed the official launching of the berth but operations were commenced in April. The berth boasts as being the only

one in the eastern seaboard to have been constructed on reclaimed sea space. The berth was constructed using material extracted deep from the seabed. ”The engineers literally pushed back the sea to create land to construct the 240-meter long berth”, said Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) in a statement. The new berth, initially proposed as an extension of berth 18 brings to 840 meters, the total quay length of the container terminal. This means that three Panamax vessels of up to 250 meters long each can berth at any given moment. “Berth No.19 has an additional stacking yard of 15 acres providing a further annual capacity of 250,000 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (Teus) per annum”, notes KPA.

• Presidents Uhuru Kenyatta, President Paul Kagame (Rwanda) and President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) after the unveiling of the commemorative plaque to officially commission the K.P.A Berth No. 19, Mombasa.

The capacity of the container freight has since increased with 903,463 Teus recorded in last year as opposed to the originally designed capacity of up to 250,000 Teus. Port performance The number of vessels calling at the port of Mombasa between January and June this year is recorded to have increased by 61 vessels. The main increase was reflected in container vessels and bulk vessels posting an increase of 28 and 14 vessels respectively. Th e t u r n a r o u n d t i m e wh i ch h a s for sometime been a major problem at the port has improved according to KPA. The turnaround time per ship has since 2012 decreased from 4.6 days in 2012 to 3.4 days recorded this year. The container dwell time is also recorded to have improved from 8.8 days to 5.8 days.”The average improvement is attributed to improved efficiency as well as the new berth No.19...” says KPA. The dredging at the port now allows for it to accommodate bigger and longer vessels measuring up to 261 meters with a draft of 12.3 meters.”In the course of this year, we are expecting a 300 meters long vessel which will then be the longest, only 100 meters shorter than the current longest vessel in the market”, notes KPA. Improvement works have been ongoing at the Port of Mombasa which is a significant landmark highlighted as the main gateway to East & Central Africa.

Africa’s largest cement manufacturer to set camp in Kenya

here’s all reason for cement industry players to worry and up their game following an announcement by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote to set up a cement factory in Kenya. The 56 year old award winning businessman said that he would construct a Sh35 billion cement plant in the country which is already home to well performing cement industries.

Dangote is the Chief Executive Officer of the Dangote Group which is currently Nigeria’s largest industrial conglomerate. The Group has several subsidiaries in Africa involved in cement, real estate, telecommunications, steel, oil & gas and beverages. Dangote cement is Africa’s largest cement manufacturer located in Nigeria and thus Kenyan cement manufacturers have no choice but to up their game supposing the

new player deploys the techniques he’s used to maintain a top niche in the African market. One will argue that the manufacturers in Kenya came first and thus enjoy the privileges of coming first. Either way, Kenyans should brace themselves for intensified competition as far as cement as concerned. Dangote is reportedly constructing cement plants in Ethiopia, Zambia, South Africa, Senegal, Cameroon and the DRC.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

Kenya’s President Visit to China opens window for key vision 2030 goals

Electronic giant sets camp in Nairobi

t’s no doubt that Nairobi is increasingly becoming a regional favorite for tech firms. Japanese electronics giant, Panasonic becomes the latest to pitch camp in the capital that is already hosting several tech and electronic giants.

• President Kenyatta with China President, Xi Jinping during a recent visit to China

he state visit to China by President Uhuru Kenyatta in August this year has effectively helped to unlock billions of dollars to help finance several Vision 2030 Flagship projects.This was confirmed by the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat (VDS) Director General,Mugo Kibati. The funding commitments extended by the Chinese government and related development agencies, Kibati explained would provide a new lease of life for Vision 2030 Flagship projects that have been lagging behind in their development schedule due to lack of crucial funding. The new funding and technical support agreements, he pointed out also opened a window for the attainment of key Vision 2030 goals on schedule. Speaking from Beijing, China, Kibati noted that the bilateral signing of funding agreements amounting to about US$5billion was a culmination of a more than six-month government-to-government negotiation process between local and Chinese technocrats in various developmental sectors under the guidance of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

With the signing of the agreements, Kibati disclosed that the Vision Delivery Secretariat’s efforts to ensure a timely implementation of critical flagship projects had now received a major boost to facilitate the jump starting of yet-to commence or behind schedule projects. “The Vision Delivery Secretariat, notes with pride that the signing of these funding agreements will provide a new lease of life to some flagship projects including the new Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba Standard Gauge rail project,” Kibati said.

In a move to serve the East African region, the electronics’ firm has set up a service and call centre in Westlands. The center which will also serve as a distribution center as well as showroom will be the firm’s hub to reach and serve the lucrative EAC region.

Alongside the Standard Gauge Rail (SGR) project covered under the US$4Billion economic partnerships agreement, the energy generation and transmission sector will also enjoy a US$ 1 Billion funding line. The proposed Mombasa-Nairobi-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway line is one of the key flagship projects under the Vision 2030 national development strategy and is categorised under the auxiliary Enablers and Macro pillar. Alongside the Social, Economic and Political pillars, the Enablers and Macro Pillar, covers those projects, interventions and initiatives whose impact ultimately cuts across all the other three pillars.

11 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Panasonic joins the likes of Samsung who have for some time now enjoyed the country’s strategic positioning and rosy market. The country also hosts the likes of LG among other international IT firms.

NEWS

KAA secures KShs 57B for JKIA expansion

Kenya purposes to address financial issues surrounding poor service delivery

T • Artistic Impression of Terminal IV

e n ya A i r p o r t A u t h o r i t y h a s r e c e ive d f u l l f u n d i n g o f f e r s from three banks to build a new terminal and second runway at its main airport, hit by a massive fire in August. will cost KSh 57billion($653 million), the Kenyan Transport Secretary, Eng. Michael Kamau said on 18th September, 2013.

on a makeshift terminal made out of giant tents to handle arriving passengers.

The plans to expand the ageing airport, a regional gateway for passengers and cargo, are not new but the authorities have come under pressure to speed up the expansion after the blaze destroyed the arrivals terminal.

“ Th e d i s c o v e r y o f o i l i s a g a m e changer in this country. I don’t think people are sufficiently prepared for what is coming,” Eng. Kamau said. Kenya’s National carrier Kenya Airways has been blaming lack of capacity for delays to expand operations. The carrier, which is partly owned by AirFrance KLM, plans to more than double its fleet to more than 80 planes in five years.

The new terminal and runway will provide a further capacity of 40 million passengers, said Eng. Kamau, seen by the Kenyan government as necessary to cope with the anticipated boost to the economy the expected exploitation of oil reserves will bring. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines o f a c o n f e r e n c e o n t h e c o u n t r y ’s economy in Nairobi, Eng. Kamau declined to say which banks had offered funds to the Kenya Airports Authority. He did, however, say the lenders would not require a government guarantee, suggesting the lenders are confident they can recoup their money on the project expected to get under way this year. The old arrival hall remains a charred shell and the airports authority is relying

Even before the fire, Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, built in the 1970s to handle 2.5 million passengers annually, was struggling to handle more than 6 million people a year as its regional importance grew.

Like most other sub-Saharan Africa nations, Kenya suffers a massive infrastructure deficit, holding back its economic growth potential. There are signs a mega-port project on the north Kenyan coast may be gaining traction based on the commercial oil d i s c ove r i e s i n U g a n d a a n d Ke nya . Eng. Kamau said a feasibility study into an oil pipeline linking South Sudan’s oil fields to the Lamu port scheme had been completed. “There are three companies that are willing to fund it with guarantees from oil revenues,” he said, without offering details.

he ability of local government and municipalities to successfully maintain financial sustainability has become paramount across the African continent to achieve efficient and timely service delivery. As service delivery protests grow, so does the pressure on local government to satisfy the basic needs of all citizens. Still, many municipalities face severe financial burdens stemming from their reduced capacity for collection of revenue for services – impacting their ability to expand and sustain service delivery. The Syntell Sustainability Forum 2013 held in November attracts Principal local government stakeholders from South Africa and colleagues from across Africa in Johannesburg. The forum is changing the status quo of the African municipality by uniting municipalities, utilities and road traffic authorities from across the continent to confront the massive challenges they face with revenue collection, management and accountability. It is bringing together industry-elite speakers such as Mr. Martin Achar from Mombasa City Council in Kenya, Mr. David Kyambadde from Entebbe Municipal Council in Uganda and Mr. Ernest Sumani from Ndola City Council in Zambia, encouraging them to share best practices so that pockets of excellence can be replicated. Sponsored by P&DM at Wits University, Syntell, Sebata, South African Post Office, Touchwork, UMS, University of Fort Hare and Verigreen the forum provides a distinctive opportunity for cross-border collaboration and shared learning amidst Africa’s local government sectors. With specialised programmes designed for municipalities, utilities, and road traffic authorities, this is the only African

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS

Mining licence revocation

A Chinese conspiracy to control the niobium market - Cortec

Africa Oil increased resource capacity

il explorer, Africa Oil has in its recent reports indicated increased oil estimates and risked prospective resources in the Tertiary rift basins in Kenya and Ethiopia. “Based on the drilling and testing program over the past year we have confirmed the South Lokichar Basin contains gross contingent resources of 368 million barrels of oil, an increase of 557%.”,says the company president, Keith Hill.

he Cabinet Secretary for Mining in Kenya , Hon. Najib Balala in August suspended all operations ranging from prospecting, exploration and mining with the intention to pave way for a clearer and transparent way of licensing in the sector. Cortec Mining Kenya Limited is amid the 31 firms affected following the revoking of all mining licenses issued from 14th January to 15th May 2013. The suspension preceded appointment of a task force with Mr. Mohammed Nyaoga as the Chair, to assess the validity of licenses issued between January 2003 and August 2013, draft recommendations and provide a report to the cabinet secretary for him to take necessary action within 60 days. Cortec claimed that the government had the firm as its main target given it’s the only one in operation. “He is targeting Cortec. He is trying to exert pressure because there are many interested parties in our resource. The Chinese are interested. They want to control the niobium market,” said Jacob Juma, a director of Cortec Mining Limited and a 30 per cent owner. This he mentioned while the Cabinet Secretary convened with the mining delegation from China under the umbrella of Blue Ocean Investment Fund. Cortec which was awarded a 21-year special mining license in March 7 this year

is not taking the revocation lightly. “The company has not received any formal notice of the cancellation of its mining license and will strongly oppose the revocation of its legally acquired rights to mine… it is the company’s intention to vigorously challenge any abuse of our license or the company in the courts,” said the company’s Managing Director, David Anderson. The revocation came shortly after National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) approved of its Environmental Impact Assessment studies for mining and establishment of a mineral processing p l a n t i n M o m b a s a . Th e c o n s e n t gave the Mining firm a go-ahead to mine niobium and rare earth metals. Niobium is a rare mineral used to strengthen steel used in manufacturing cars, ships, oil and gas pipelines as well as aircraft engines, among others. It is used to produce high strength low alloy (HSLA) as an additive to ordinary steel, increasing its strength while reducing its weight. Rare earth metals are used in circuits found in electronics among other appliances. China currently dominates production of rare earth metals, accounting for more than 90 percent of the world’s production though the minerals are distributed across the world.

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In addition gross risked prospective resources of 1,213 million barrels of oil are estimated for the South Lokichar Basin in Northern Kenya. This level of resource exceeds the threshold for development and development studies have commenced. “We continue to aggressively explore with three seismic crews active and are ramping up drilling activity with plans to have a total of six rigs (four operated by Tullow Oil) operating in the fourth quarter of 2013. We expect the next 18 months to be transformational as we drill-out the prolific South Lokichar Basin and open up a number of highly prospective basins on the Tertiary rift trend.”, notes Africa Oil in a statement.

NEWS

World Economic Forum on Africa

Kenya advances up the Global competitiveness ladder

• A panel of Chairs at the World Economic Forum in Cape Town, South Africa

enya’s national development prospects are begun to shine bright following a confirmation by the World Economic Forum that the country had joined the league of the 100most competitive nations in the world. In a development that portends good t i d i n g s f o r t h e Ke nya Vi s i o n 2 0 3 0 National Development goals, the Global Competitiveness Report 20132014 released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) confirmed that Kenya had edged up ten slots in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) rankings. By edging up ten slots, Kenya managed to score big as the most improved African and sub-Sahara country on the GCI top 100 rankings. The GCI score is one of the three major dimensions that are, relied upon to evaluate Kenya’s Vision 2030 progress.

Speaking in Nairobi, moments after receiving a communique from the World Economic Forum, earlier forwarded to the Vision Delivery Secretariat Director General Mugo Kibati, the Vision 2030 Delivery Board Chairman Dr James Mwangi, described Kenya’s global competitiveness comeback as a positive affirmation of the on-going efforts to transform the country. Through a string of institutional and policy reforms enshrined in the new constitution and related Acts of Parliament, Dr Mwangi noted that the country was now on a national development recovery path.

the Standard Gauge Railway line, JKIA Terminal Four and related infrastructural developments at the Port of Mombasa, will further serve to enhance our global competitiveness,” Dr Mwangi said. O n h i s p a r t , Vi s i o n 2 0 3 0 D e l ive r y Secretariat Director General, Mugo Kibati, said the independently evaluated report had served to pass a valid verdict o n K e n y a ’s d e v e l o p m e n t a g e n d a .

Efforts to step up the reforms agenda across the economic, social and political fronts, Dr Mwangi said would also help solidify Kenya’s GCI ranking next year as a number of ongoing flagship projects begin to bear fruits.

“The over arching goal of Kenya Vision 2030 is to transform the country into “a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a high quality of life for its citizens” by the year 2030,” Mwangi said. He added, “This goal entails three main dimensions: National Prosperity, a High Quality of Life and Global Competitiveness as affirmed in the Global Competitiveness Report.”

“The VDB is confident that projects such as the stringent implementation of our new constitution, construction of

While noting this year’s positive score, Kibati noted that since 2003 when Kenya started participating in the GCI

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

NEWS rankings, the national ranking had been progressively declining from position 83 in 2003 to number 106 in 2012 among the 142 participating countries. “I am excited and glad to note that in line with the overall goals and spirit of vision 2030, Kenya’s global competitiveness i s n o w o n a g r o w t h t r a j e c t o r y, effectively confirming that Vision 2030 Inatendeka (is happening),” Kibati said. And added: “As we take stock of the report details, we cannot afford to be complacent by slowing down on the pace of reforms,” Kibati stressed. According to the report highlights, Kenya’s advances on the GCI ladder was largely on the on the back of greater confidence in the institutions indicator. On this particular indicator, which tests a

country’s investor protection positioning, Kenya is, now ranked at position 88. A t p o s i t i o n 3 1 , Ke n ya ’s e c o n o m y scored well on the back of support f r o m t h e w e l l - d e ve l o p e d f i n a n c i a l markets by international standards. Kenya also scored well on its innovative capacity and is ranked at position 46 buoyed by high company spending on Research and Development (R&D) and good scientific research institutions that collaborate well with the business sector in research activities. Further, supporting this innovative potential is an educational system that gets relatively good marks for quality (44th) as well as for on-the-job training (49th). On the flipside, a number of factors a r e h o l d i n g b a c k K e n y a ’s o v e r a l l

competitiveness. Health remains an area of serious concern (121st), with a high prevalence of communicable diseases contributing to the low life expectancy of fewer than 58 years and reducing the productivity of the workforce. The security situation in Kenya also remains worrisome (131st). On a continental scale, the report notes that the sub-Saharan Africa region continues to underperform significantly in providing health and basic education. The region’s poor performance across all basic requirements for competitiveness however stands in stark contrast to its comparatively stronger performance in market efficiency, where particularly the region’s middle-income economies such as Kenya, South Africa and Mauritius fare relatively well and rank in the top 20 per cent in financial market development.

Apple unveils 2 New iPhones

nlike the tradition where Apple unveils one smartphone per season, this time they have unveiled two of them, iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.To explain this, Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook pointed that the move was a reaction to the changing smartphone market. “Business has become so large that this year we are going to replace the iPhone 5 and we’re going to replace it with not one, but two new designs,” Cook said during the launch.

The phone will sell at $99, for a 16GB version, and $199 for one with 32GB of storage (each with a two-year mobile contract). In a departure, Apple will also be making its own cases for the 5C, selling them in a variety of colors for $29.The iPhone 5S,which is a more traditional update of the iPhone 5 will however retail at $199 for a 16GB version, $299 for a 32GB model and $399 for the top-end 64GB phone. The Smartphones are simply an upgrade of the iPhone 5 as well as simpler, cheaper versions. iOS 7 On 18th September this year, Apple rolled out a new operating system dubbed iOS 7 that is set to give users a whole new interface experience. It features radically overhauled interface, new Control Center, transparent animations and more.

• New iPhone 5S Gold

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The iOS 7 introduces great new features like Control Center, AirDrop for iOS, and smarter

• New iPhone 5C

multitasking. “And while many of the apps look different, the way you do things feels perfectly familiar, ” says Apple on their website. The new system is available for the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, the iPad 2, iPad third and fourth generation, the iPad mini and the iPod touch fifth generation.

NEWS

GM Ventures into Heavy Duty Sector “ A move to stay on top “

eneral Motors East Africa (GMEA) launched its new Isuzu EXZ prime mover, an E Series heavy-duty Truck and Tractor Unit in an event dubbed “Isuzu Strong, Kenya Strong” a move that sees its entry to the heavy duty sector. The Cargo Truck which is engineered with the SEE Technology: Safety-protecting drivers and the cargo, Economy-to benefit the customers and Environmentally friendlya move of the Isuzu brand going green is aesthetically and economically designed for the comfort of the driver, comes with a new seat that conforms to euro regulations which ensures that in case of a collision, the seat guarantees that the driver’s neck and spine are not injured. • The new Isuzu EXZ Prime Mover

The Management in both General Motors East Africa and Africa this development is set to further ingrain the firm’s market dominance. “Entrance into the heavy duty truck segment demonstrates GM’s confidence in the East African economy and its commitment to continuing to roll out of innovative products to meet customer needs,” said GM Africa president and Managing Director, Mario Spangenberg speaking at the event on 29th October, 2013.

“We believe this prime mover will further strengthen our market leadership by partnering with customers to provide them with the competitive edge in their own businesses.” She said, adding, “This heavy-duty truck will support transporters and distributors in growing their business between the towns, cities and countries within East Africa,” said GMEA Managing Director, Rita Kavashe.

With over 14000cc engine capacity fit to achieve an operational less stress, it has 20% more durability than its like in the market which means long life, low maintenance and better fuel economy. Other specs include its new transmission with 16 forward gears and two reverse gears which means a better multiplication for the torque of the engine which improves hill climbing. The trucks have an aerodynamically design cabin to lessen drag-air resistance to an object in motion-limiting the force used and hence lessen fuel consumption by up to 4%.

“Isuzu and GMEA are pivotal to the company’s strategy for expansion in the fast-growing markets of East Africa. Strengthening of GM’s sales and service network in the region is vital in ensuring quality service to customers,” said Mr. Spangenberg. • GM East Africa Managing Director, Rita Kavashe during the launch of the New Isuzu EXZ Prime Mover with her is GM Africa President & MD, Mario Spangenberg

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Nuclear Energy

Kenya’s prospect in nuclear energy generation ⌠ by Kevin Achola - Bsc. Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering, UoN

• An Illustration of a nuclear power plant

any developed countries have been using nuclear energy to power their economies but now there exists concerted efforts to move away from this form of energy.Germany, the largest economy in Europe does it through Energiewende a policy that advocates abolition of nuclear energy alongside petroleum and other non-sustainable sources of power. The Swiss and the Italians have also initiated plans to plug off nuclear power generation. Japan’s only operating nuclear reactor was shut down for maintenance on 15th September 2013, leaving the country with no nuclear power supply only for the second time in 40 years. The first time was in May 2012 after the Fukushima disaster, Kansai Electric Power Co. confirmed reactor no. 4 was shuttered at its Oi plant in Fukui prefecture in western Japan with no resumption date set. Japan is steadily moving away from nuclear energy that was provided by its 50 reactors; It had prior allowed two operational reactors due to fear of an energy crunch and blackouts that would occur due to the void created. It’s hard to talk about nuclear power generation without thinking of the

contemporary cases involving nuclear plants at Fukushima and Chernobyl. The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26th April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine where an explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe. It is one of only two cases classified as level 7 event-the maximum classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale-the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011. The battle to contain the contamination and avert a greater catastrophe ultimately involved over 500,000 workers and cost an estimated 18 billion rubles (approximately Ksh48 billion). An UNSCEAR {United Nations Scientific Committee on effects of Atomic Radiation} report places the total confirmed deaths from the radiation at 64 as of 2008. The Chernobyl Forum predicts the eventual death toll could reach 4,000 among those exposed to the highest levels of radiation {200,000 emergency workers, 116,000 evacuees and 270,000 residents of the most contaminated areas}; this figure is a total causal death toll prediction, combining the deaths of approximately 50

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emergency workers who died soon after the accident from acute radiation syndrome, nine children who have died of thyroid cancer and a future predicted total of 3940 deaths from radiation-induced cancer and leukemia. The accident caused serious social and psychological disruption in the lives of those affected and vast economic losses over the entire region. Large areas of the three countries were contaminated with radioactive materials. Radionuclides from the Chernobyl release were measurable in all countries of the northern hemisphere. This resulted in severe environmental damages, both immediate and long-term. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is the most recent nuclear energy accident at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, initiated in greatest part by the tsunami portion of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on 11th March 2011. The damage caused by the tsunami produced equipment failures, and without this equipment a Loss of Coolant followed with nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials beginning on 12th March 2011. It is the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the second

Nuclear Energy

disaster to measure Level 7. It caused massive evacuations and still is problematic to handle two years later in spite of Japan’s technological prowess. The essence of history is to learn from it. Nuclear installations are lethal establishments if a mishap is to occur, even if structurally foolproof, human error and terrorist sabotage cannot be ruled out. With Kenya’s disaster preparedness record, coming to mind is the JKIA fire and the bomblast in 1998; do we have the capacity to handle a nuclear catastrophe? Nuclear generating stations exist for the purpose of converting the energy obtained from the fission of certain nuclei to electricity. This energy conversion takes place via a number of intermediate stages that require many pieces of equipment organized into several systems under the control and protection of both manual and automatic operations. Fuel containing fissile material (Uranium) is fed to the reactor where fission takes place. The energy liberated appears in the form of heat, which is used to boil water. The steam produced from the boiling water spins a turbine-generator set, where the heat is converted first to kinetic energy in the turbine and to electricity by the generator. It is important to recognize that while the transport of heat from the reactor to the turbine takes place in one or two closed loop systems that are highly efficient, the transformation of the heat energy of the steam to the kinetic energy of the turbine is accompanied by a large loss of energy as the steam is condensed to water prior to recirculation. Approximately 60% of the heat energy removed from the fuel is rejected to the condenser cooling water. Several other systems are also cooled by water. Spent fuel is periodically removed from the reactor depending with its design. The nuclear debate reached intensity unprecedented in the history of technology controversies in the 70s to 80s in advanced countries with most of them adopting the technology and setting up nuclear plants. The current trends however show a reversal on these tendencies after more research and

nuclear disasters along the way convinced them otherwise. Advocates argue that nuclear power is a sustainable energy source which reduces carbon emissions and can increase energy security if its use supplants a dependence on imported and fossil fuels. They also advance the notion that nuclear power produces virtually no air pollution, in contrast to the chief viable alternative of fossil fuel. Proponents believe that nuclear power is the only viable course to achieve energy independence for most countries. They emphasize that the risks of storing waste are small and can be further reduced by using the latest technology in newer reactors, and the operational safety record in the Western world is excellent when compared to the other major kinds of power plants.

The inclusion of nuclear energy is welcomed since we need almost 19,000 MW to achieve Vision 2030 ~ Betty Maina CEO, Kenya Association of Manufacturers

Opponents say that nuclear power poses many threats to people and the environment. These threats include health risks and environmental damage from uranium mining, processing and transport, the risk of nuclear weapons proliferation or sabotage, and the unsolved problem of radioactive nuclear waste. They also contend that reactors themselves are enormously complex machines where many things can and do go wrong, and there have been many serious nuclear accidents. Critics do not believe that these risks can be reduced through new technology. They argue that when all the energy-intensive stages of the nuclear fuel chain are considered, from uranium mining to nuclear decommissioning, nuclear power is not a low-carbon electricity source. In a press release on 30th April 2013 the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) CEO Betty Maina welcomed the planned

introduction of nuclear energy in Kenya. She says the use of nuclear technology for electricity generation will greatly boost the country’s manufacturing sector, create jobs, attract more industrial investors and grow the economy. She emphasized that for Kenya to attain the flagship projects and goals of Vision 2030, additional sources of energy were necessary. “We have geothermal, hydro and the like. The inclusion of nuclear energy is welcome since we need almost 19,000 MW to achieve Vision 2030,” Ms. Maina said. Energy is one of the enablers of the three pillars of Vision 2030. The level and intensity of commercial energy use in the country is a key indicator of the degree of economic growth and development. This expected increase in demand of electricity cannot be sustained by the amount of energy being generated by the current sources considering their potential limitations. Energy demand recorded the highest peak at 1,236 MW in May 2012, up from 1,105 MW in 2009 and 708 MW in 2000. The third draft of the National Energy Policy recognizes the inclusion of nuclear energy into the country’s energy mix. The critical need for nuclear energy is benched on the fact that, with the rising demand for power in the country due to the accelerated investment in the economy, it is one of the forms of energy that can produce enormous amounts of electricity at a relatively low economical cost in the long term. Further, the LCPDP {Least Cost Power Development Plan} estimates the total installed capacity in 2030 at 19,199MW, out of which nuclear plants are expected to contribute 19% or 4,000 MW from four plants. The first nuclear plant of 1,000MW is expected to be commissioned for operation in 2022. Additional units of 1,000MW each are expected to be commissioned in 2026, 2029 and 2031 when the projected demands will be 9,556MW 13,435MW and 16,905MW respectively. It is further noted that the introduction of nuclear electricity into the grid is justified by the growing demand for huge power within the Eastern Africa Power Pool {EAPP} whose objective is to create a common market for power in the East African region. The Kenya

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Nuclear Energy Nuclear Electricity Board {KNEB} is charged with the responsibility of developing a comprehensive legal and regulatory framework for nuclear energy use in Kenya. There is at the present time no legislative and regulatory framework governing the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation in Kenya.

An MIT interdisciplinary study in 2003 titled, The future of nuclear power, established that for a large expansion of nuclear power to succeed, the following four critical problems must be overcome.

In the effort to build capacity 11 Kenyan students have commenced training in South Korea. They are drawn from various parastatals in the Ministry of Energy. They are undertaking postgraduate studies in Nuclear Science at the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) training school, Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, director general, Mugo Kibati said on 25th April 2013.Save the 11, six students drawn from the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board, Kenya Power and Lighting Company and Kenya’s Radiation Protection Board admitted last year are now concluding their two year Masters Studies in power generation, power transmission, and radiation safety.

⌠ by Daisy Gakuu

4. 1.

Cost. In deregulated markets, nuclear power is not cost competitive with alternative sources of power. Safety. Modern reactor designs can achieve a very low risk of serious accidents, but “best practices” in construction and operation are essential. This does not rule out human error and natural catastrophes. Little is known about the safety of the overall fuel cycle, beyond reactor operation. Wa s t e . G e o l o g i c a l d i s p o s a l i s technically feasible but execution is yet to be demonstrated or certain. A convincing case has not been made that the long-term waste management benefits of advanced, closed fuel cycles involving reprocessing of spent fuel are outweighed by the short-term risks and

costs. Improvement in the open, once through fuel cycle may offer waste management benefits as large as those claimed for the more expensive closed fuel cycles. Proliferation. The current international safeguards regime is inadequate to meet the security challenges of the expanded nuclear deployment contemplated in the global growth scenario. The reprocessing system now used in Europe, Japan, and Russia that involves separation and recycling of plutonium presents unwarranted proliferation risks.

We have immense capacity for clean sources of energy including geothermal and hydro electric power besides solar, wind and tidal sources. Considering most of the world is moving away from nuclear energy due to its maleficent, why should we move towards it?

Oil Industry embraces Gamification to spark more global interest

he quest for oil might not be a weighty issue to any layman but to the engineers, geologists and all professionals tasked with oil exploration, it’s not that simple. Say, from analysis of seismic data, investment to the spot-on drilling of the oil reservoirs, it shows the explorer’s analytical and strategic skills employed in a drilling rig. It is in this regard, given we’re living in a world with oil; players in the industry have come up with ways to involve the world in this exploration through gamification. In June this year, Maersk - a global conglomerate with a variety of sectors within the transport and energy industries - launched real-time strategy game called ‘Quest for Oil’. According to Jakob Thomasen, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Maersk Oil, “Most people take for granted that we have

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Oil Games oil and natural gas and not many people understand what it takes to find and produce it. The world’s need for oil and gas is leading exploration into ever deeper waters and ventures demanding precision and cutting edge technology. It’s a sophisticated, fascinating industry and ‘Quest for Oil’ offers everybody a glimpse of what oil and gas exploration is all about today.”

• Quest for Oil game screen shot

The game puts the player’s analytic skills to test while he or she is looking for oil on a seismic map to extract it. Another challenge that lies therein is playing against artificially intelligent digital opponent that is dedicated to make the player lose. To beat this gamification bully, the player has to learn the importance of the seismic phase, the process through which earth’s different layers were formed and which of those layers have the probability to yield oil.

• A Maersk Tanker

How to play The game features two oil fields, one in the North Sea and the other in Qatar. The first move is to choose your location between the two fields. This then takes you to an overview and potential tab. The overview gives the player an outline basically of the oil fields in which one can buy licenses. The map also shows the player’s assets and his opponent’s distinguished by varying colorsblue for you (the player) and red for your opponent. The potential tab gives the player the specifics about the fields, distinguishing between the fields with highest, medium and low potential of yielding oil. The distinction is represented by three colors; green for high potential, yellow for medium and Orange for areas with low potential of oil. This might sound easy but the higher the potential a field has, the more expensive it gets to invest. The next step is to analyze a seismic threedimensional (3D) map to locate the first exploration drill. It seems knowing your colors and what they represent is key to winning this game. In this case, there are blue areas which indicate areas nearest to the surface and red areas that represent the deepest areas. The player’s objective is to locate the reservoir and then establish how much oil it holds.

Lastly, the player is tasked with unlocking the oil from the reservoir rock. This can be done by injecting water and natural gas into the rock keeping in mind that oil moves upwards. However, there’s need for control. The player has to drill fast but safely, watching out for warnings about pressure and temperature differentiation that might even cause a blow out. Upon success, the player also transports the oil to his or her refinery. The world without Oil The Quest for Oil game engages the players in living in a World with Oil and through it, the globe can learn about oil exploration. In 2007, Jane McGonigal, a game designer amongst other members created a reality game called World without Oil. The game ran from 30th April 2007 to 1st June 2007 but each day represented one week summing it to a realistic simulation of the first 32 weeks of a global oil shortage recorded in 1,500 personal blog posts, photos, videos and audios. Each week presented a development in the oil crisis and the players participated through giving their comments through the mentioned media above. The game masters sketched out realistic conditions that would ensue after the oil crisis and called on the players to assume it a reality and to give an account of how the oil shock is affecting

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Oil Games

• Maersk value chain

them, asking them for probable solutions to adapt to the crisis. The game’s theme ‘Play it before you live it’ was an invitation in itself calling out to players to apply collective intelligence that would be used as reference in future by laymen, educators , regulators and policymakers to prevent the crisis from happening. Chronologically, week one marked an oil shock that saw the revision of gas prices up and the engaging question was what would this development do to the player’s finances. In the second week there was a break in the oil supply chain which got the players thinking about ways of narrowing the gap between the demand and supply for oil. By week three, precipitated by week two, gas prices had hiked with people even buying gas for future consumption. Week four portrayed the frustrations of people as a result of the crisis that was sinking in and by week five, it intensified with the ripple effect causing other commodity prices to rise. For instance, the groceries which are transported by vehicles which run on fuel took a while before reaching the market which led to the increase in prices of food amongst other commodities. As the crisis hit week six, some people were still in denial and had just kept away from things that made the situation more pronounced like driving. These people opted for bicycles to reach their destination. By this time, there was rise in crime given the prices creeping upwards; tourism was affected given the government needed to control the fuel demand that would rise with

use of unmanned ships and airplanes. There were occasional power outages. Week seven and eight brought out the survival tactics of the world living without oil; people formed communities arguing that the solidarity in some way alleviated the oil shock while others thought moving from cities and moving to suburbs would ease the shock. The shortages increased and forming communities to pool resources and share knowledge was a good option. The chaos had just begun, by week nine gas prices had overshot and crime was on the rise by week ten. By Week 11 keeping count of jobless people was impossible as many could not get to work while others who worked in oil related fields had no jobs given the crisis. Week 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 saw Diesel run out. There were blackouts that left hospitals most affected, scramble for food amongst other basic commodities due to further revision of prices upwards and more violence as a result of fuel riots. Week 18 marked the comeback for bicycles officially as a mode of transport. Week 19 spelt bankruptcy for most people keeping in mind that the economy was worst hit with the oil crisis. Airlines minimized their flights and only used fuel-efficient aircrafts. By week 21, order was restored but the resources were limited and people’s pockets kept shrinking, famine was looming. The alternative/solution Week 22 brought out the fight in people, with the call to rebuild the world and in one

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player’s words, “make lemonade from the lemon.” Week 23 bore the brunt of the food crisis as crop yields were low and imports dried up. Week 24 saw the World plot a new world order with people reflecting on past misuse of the run-out resource and by week 25 residents flee suburban lifestyle. Week 26 to 31, saw a group effort to thrive in the oil crisis calling out to people to find other sources of energy for survival. With the communities, coming to place after the chaos some people created a ‘community skills bank’ which would help share the burden of the crisis amongst various people. These weeks also brought out challenges in places like the U.S where the people around that time were anticipating winter. How to keep warm was a major question. Come spring, some were prepping to sow without prior experience in farming but had to if they were to thrive in the aftermath. Conclusion Week 32 was marked mainly by a reflection about the whole experience looking at the transition from a World with oil to a World without; this showed how dependent we really are on oil. Oil makes up most of the products we use from medicine like antihistamines, to everyday-use deodorants, paint, toothpaste and the list continues up to 6000 products. It makes it almost impossible to fathom a world without it. As the quest for oil continues, man determines whether such a time as described in the games will come. To a layman or not, oil is imperative as the two games have revealed.

Energy

The past, present and future of Kenya’s Power Sector

enya has a vibrant power generation sector that holds a lot of promise. The sector comprises both private, public and government participation. A small but successful Independent Power Producers (IPP) procurement programme has been running since the mid-1990s, when Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) started to procure power from IPPs. The major player however remains Kenya Generating Company Limited (KenGen) supplying the country with about 80 per cent of its electricity. Energy consumption The power consumption is based on the Model for Analysis of Energy Demand (MAED) based on Excel worksheets. It indicates that the peak demand lay in the range of 1,227 MW in 2010 and projected to between 12,738 and 22,985 MW in 2031. The reference case ranges from 1,227MW in 2010 to 3,751MW in 2018 to 15,026MW in 2030 and 16,905MW in 2031 while the energy demand increases from 7,296GWh in 2010 to 22,685GWh in 2018 to 91,946GWh in 2030 and 103,518GWh in 2031. There is a very slight difference between this year’s load forecast and the load forecast done in the last update of 2010-2030 Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) prepared by the electric power sub sector. The reference peak demand for 2030 is 15,065MW. History of power generation Kenya’s power sector can be traced back to 1922 when the East African Power and Lighting Company (EAP&L) was established through a merger of two companies. These were; the Mombasa Electric Power and Lighting Company established in 1908 and Nairobi Power and Lighting Syndicate also formed in the same year. The Kenya Power Company (KPC) was later formed in 1954 as a subsidiary of the EAP&L. With many operations of EAP&L largely confined to Kenya, the company finally changed its name to Kenya Power

and Lighting Company Limited (KPLC) in 1983. KPLC was 100% government owned. The power sector in Kenya has been undergoing restructuring and reform since the mid-1990s, culminating in the Energy Act 2006. In the 1990s, the Government of Kenya officially liberalized power generation as part of the power sector reforms in 1996. Among the first reforms to take place was the unbundling of the state utility in 1997. KenGen, which remained entirely state owned, became responsible for the generation assets while KPLC assumed responsibility for all distribution and transmission. The Electricity Regulatory Board was also established under the 1997 electric power Act as the sub sector regulator. In addition to Energy Regulatory Commission and the Rural Electrification Authority which came about through policy as a result of the reforms. The sessional paper No 4 of 2004 on energy also provides for the creating of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) a special purposes vehicle for geothermal resource development and Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) a state owned Transmission Company. The main source of power supply in Kenya is hydro electricity and fossil fuels; however, the potential for renewable energy sources to play a significant role within Kenya’s electricity sector has attracted significant support from various agencies. It is considered that over reliance on hydropower and fossil fuels will, if not mitigated, constrain economic growth in Kenya. Shortage is evident as power outages and high electricity prices. As such, the future of Kenya’s electricity subsector will be shaped by a number of positive reform initiatives, all of which are aimed at improving the sustainability of the electricity subsector and the energy sector as a whole. The current jubilee government has already

23 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

shown positive tendencies and laid out ambitious goals for power generation like the achievement of 5000MW power production by 2017. Expansion plan Considering the current and projected consumption, it is immediately recognizable that there is need for expansion of the power generation capacity of the country and explore all the available options. Resources to be considered in the system expansion plan include geothermal, hydro, Wind, coal, oil-fired and nuclear power plants. Geothermal, Nuclear, coal imports and Wind power plants dominate the optimal development program. Geothermal resources remain the choice for the future generating capacity in Kenya. The optimum projection indicates that geothermal capacity should be increased from the current 198MW to 5,530 MW. The system expansion plan according to LCPDP over the 20-year plan period indicates that 26% of the total installed capacity will be obtained from geothermal, 19% from Nuclear Plants, 13% from coal plants and 9% from imports. Wind and Hydro plants will provide 9% and 5% respectively while Medium Speed Diesel

Energy

over reliance on hydropower, high cost of energy, inability to deliver adequate energy to meet national needs, and low investments in the sector, among others. In the medium term, the sector plans to inject 1815MW which will be attained through commissioning of additional geothermal power plants (404.2MW), Hydro Plants (78MW), Coal fired plants (360 MW), Medium Speed Diesel Plants (342 MW) and 430.4 MW of wind plants. The sector will also enhance energy efficiency and conservation as well as expand and extend the national grid. The main sources of power as we move towards Vision 2030 include: •

• A section of Olkaria III Power Plant

and Gas Turbines - Liquefied Natural Gas plants will provide 9% and 11% of the total capacity respectively. The present value of the total system expansion cost over the period 2011-2031 for the reference case development plan amounts to U.S. $ 41.4 billion, expressed in constant prices as of the beginning of 2010. Power generators in Kenya can be broadly divided into two: •

•

KenGen is the main player in electricity generation, with a current installed capacity of 1,176MW of electricity. It is owned 70% by the Government of Kenya and 30% by private shareholders. The Company accounts for about 75% of the installed capacity from various power generation sources that include hydropower, thermal, geothermal and wind. IPPs who are private investors in the power sector involved in generation either on a large scale or for the development of renewable energy under the Feed-in-Tariff Policy. Current players comprise Iberafrica (108 MWthermal power plant), OrPower (48 MW -geothermal power plant), Tsavo (74 MW-thermal power plant), Mumias

(26MW -Cogeneration), Imenti (900kW -Mini-Hydro), Rabai (90MW- Thermal power plant). Collectively, they account for about 26% of the country’s installed capacity.

•

The interconnected system in Kenya has a total installed capacity of 1,533 MW made up of 761.0 MW of hydro, 525 MW of thermal, 198 MW of geothermal, 5.45 MW of wind , 26MW from cogeneration and 17MW of isolated grid. The total effective capacity is 1,515 MW during normal hydrology. Registered interconnected national sustained peak demand is 1,178 (1,183 MW instantaneous). Future power supply Energy is one of the enablers for Kenya Vision 2030. Currently, Kenya depends on biomass (68%), hydrocarbons (22%) electricity (9%), solar and other forms of energy (1%) for its energy needs with petroleum and electricity dominating the commercial energy. The supply of adequate energy for household and industrial needs has in the past faced major challenges. Some of these challenges include high infrastructure development costs, long leadtime required to implement energy projects,

•

Cogeneration using bagasse as a primary fuel is common practice in the domestic sugar industry in Kenya. Mumias is currently exporting 26MW energy to the national grid Wind resources. Of all renewable energy sources, wind power is the most mature in terms of commercial d e ve l o p m e n t . Th e m o s t r e c e n t investment in wind energy in Kenya is KenGen’s 5.1MW farm in Ngong comprising six 850kW turbines installed in August 2009. A further 610MW are to be developed by IPP’s comprising; 300MW by Lake Turkana Wind, 60MW Aeolus Kinangop wind, 100MW Aeolus Ngong’ wind, 60MW Osiwo Ngong’ wind, 60MW Aperture Green Ngong’ and 30MW Daewoo Ngong’ wind. Local production and marketing of small wind generators has started and few pilot projects are under consideration. Hydroelectric resources. The most promising viable large hydro power resources in Kenya being considered currently are Mutonga (60MW) and Low Grand Falls (140MW) or High Grand Falls (250-450MW) in place of Mutonga and Low Grand Falls , Arror (60MW), Magwagwa (120 MW) projects, Nandi (50MW) and Karura (60MW). Worth mentioning is Ewaso Ngiro South (220 MW) which has outstanding environmental concerns beyond Kenya’s borders. Geothermal resources. Fourteen high

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Energy

•

temperature potential sites occur along the Kenyan Rift Valley with an estimated potential of more than 15,000 MW. Other locations include Homa Hills in Nyanza, Mwananyamala at the Coast and Nyambene Ridges. Coal Power Plants. None is operational in Kenya as at now. A feasibility study by the Kenyan government of 2010 recommended 2 x 150 MW coal plants for use. With the ongoing appraisal of local coal resource in Kitui County by the Ministry of Energy, it is anticipated that the candidate coal plants will utilize the local resource. Conventional Thermal Plants. The Kenyan power system has continued to expand thermal plants to mitigate shortfalls and to provide peaking capacity in the long term. Though these plants have low initial capital outlay, they have high operational costs subject to fluctuation in international crude prices. The new plants are expected to be able to switch from diesel and kerosene to natural gas in future. Natural gas will be obtainable alongside the recently discovered oil reserves. Nuclear Power Plants. Nuclear power is considered a potential long-term option for electricity generation in Kenya. Nuclear generating units are characterized by high capital investment and low operating costs, and in electric power systems, these units normally serve as base load units. In April 2010, Kenya’s National Economic and Social Council (NESC) that is chaired by the President, adopted introduction of nuclear power programme as a national priority. The Government has provided a budget for the programme and created the Nuclear Electricity Development Project and a committee to spearhead the process. It is generally projected that in 2022 Kenya will have a nuclear plant having a generation capacity of 1000MW

With the faithful implementation of the above projects Kenya is expected to be energy independent very soon, this will spur economic growth and bring industrialization within the country to unprecedented levels.

25 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

COVER STORY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND CONSERVATION

⌠ by Samuel Eyinda Bsc. Electrical & Electronics Engineering, UoN

ENERGY EFFICIENCY refers to using less energy to provide the same level of service. On the other hand, energy conservation is achieved through efficient energy use in which case energy use is decreased while achieving a similar outcome or by reduced consumption of energy and related services. Efficiency and conservation measures are important for any given nation. Efficiency and conservation measures often used at consumer level include use of energy saving devices, rational saving methods including switching off devices when not in use, using alternatives fuels, Use of quality light and cooking devices which are efficient and good maintenance of appliances.

s Kenya aspires to be a middle income economy as envisaged in Vision 2030, it faces an enormous task of meeting energy needs due to the high expectations in growth to power the economy. The country therefore needs to come up with strategies and investment plans to secure sustainable supply of energy to meet the growing demand. The energy sector is considered a key factor to achieving vision 2030.

• A wind turbine and a power substation at Ngong Hills

Energy Efficiency methods are employed to Reduce production cost, Reduce pressure on the national electricity generation, transmission and distribution facilities, Reduce environmental degradation and green house gas emissions, Improve energy utilization and cost index, Reduce pressure in imports and Improve in energy conservation measures.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

COVER STORY The energy sector in Kenya is largely dominated by petroleum and electricity, with wood fuel providing the basic energy needs of the rural communities, urban poor, and the informal sector. Wood fuel and other biomass account for 68% of the total energy consumption. Petroleum and Electricity account for 22% and 9% respectively. Electricity access in Kenya is low despite the government’s ambitious target to increase electricity connectivity from the current 18% to at least 65% by the year 2022. Kenya has an installed capacity of 1.593 GW.

in wind, KPLC already signed a PPA with Lake Turkana Power Company to supply 300MW of electricity. In petroleum; there have been increased activities in exploration of hydrocarbons in Northern and Coastal regions in the country. The government has also intensified search for coal deposits in Kitui. Future government policy in energy is leaning towards improvement of the working modalities with Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). All these initiatives are aimed at ensuring energy security in the country in order to meet increased energy demand as envisaged in vision 2030.

of Kenya Power’s clients rose from 1,753,348 in 2011 to 2,038,625 in 2012. This effectively led to a rise in the system peak demand from 1194MW in 2011 to 1236MW in 2012. Evening Lighting demand from households accounts for a major portion of the peak load. Efficient lighting technologies will hence offer the cheapest and the fastest option of bridging the supply - demand gap by reducing the evening peak. This consequently leads to a reduction in the system load factor which is a measure of the efficiency of utilization of the available capacity.

Fuel wood demand in the country is estimated to be 35 million tons per year while its supply is 15 million tons per year, representing a deficit of 20 million tons. The massive deficit in fuel wood supply has led to high rates of deforestation in both exotic and indigenous vegetation resulting to adverse environmental effects.

Energy as used by households and enterprises may make a large difference if enough measures are employed towards efficiency and conservation. While 26% of electricity users do not apply any efficiency or conservation methods in its use, 28% utilize energy saving appliances and devices to save energy. 50% of fuel wood users do not apply any efficiency measures while 27% of charcoal users do not use any efficiency measures.

The government, through Kenya Power, has initiated several projects aimed at ensuring efficient use of energy. This projects are at different levels of implementation and include; use of Energy Efficient transformers, Grid Extension projects, Renewable energy projects at the off grid power stations, Capacitors installation on the power system, CFL Roll out in the residential sector, Energy Efficiency Improvement in buildings, Replacing electromagnetic ballasts with electronic ones in big buildings, Use of Solar Water Heaters (SWH), Energy efficient street lighting program and encouraging use of Solar Lanterns. There are deliberate loss reduction efforts by Kenya Power through System reinforcement to cater for growing load through; Establishment of more

Kenya’s Long term focus is on green energy (geothermal, wind & hydro imports). In the electricity sector, green electricity is going to be the energy of the future. Government efforts to increase power generation are in geothermal and wind sources of electricity. GDC has embarked on an ambitious programme to increase the number of wells in Olkaria and other potential areas while

In 2011 Kenya Power purchased 7.303GWh and sold 6.123GWh of electricity as compared to 2012 where the company purchased 7.670GWh and sold 6.341GWh. This translates to 16.2% system losses in 2011 and 16.0% in 2012. The number

• An aerial view of Sondu Miriu power station

27 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

COVER STORY only put more electricity to the national grid, but also ensure improved access and reduction in cost of power as well as protect the environment from carbon dioxide emissions. Due to health problems associated with smoke from use of Kerosene, there is need for the government to increase the penetration of other alternative fuels such as biogas and LPG by making them available and cheaper to the users. In order to increase usage and penetration of LPG in the country, there is need to provide more fiscal incentives both to the users and suppliers and particularly for the appliances such as cookers which are currently expensive and other peripherals that discourages prospective users.

• A Power Transformer

primary substations to reduce the length of distribution lines, Line reconductoring to upgrade thin conductor with thick conductor, Specifications for low loss transformers & equipment, Transformer relocation to load centers and Capacitor installations on transmission & distribution lines and substations.

and apparatus among the majority of the citizens. Since fuel wood has been the main fuel in the rural areas, there is need to encourage and enforce adoption of wood saving cookers, outside the traditional three stones. This should continually be done in the medium term to protect the environment.

There are also a number of Demand Side Management (DSM) efforts that have been put in place to ensure efficient use of Energy. DSM involves influencing the level & pattern of electricity usage by customers. DSM aims at among others; reducing the customer load to reduce losses on the supply side, create capacity on the system to serve more customers, reducing use of fossil fuels, hence reduction in GHG emissions – environmental conservation, Rolling out of energy saving bulbs – reduced peak demand by an estimated 50MW and Interruptible facility to switch off water heating load during peak period.

It is necessary to encourage and enhance energy saving and efficiency methods in charcoal production and use in areas in which they have not permeated to protect the environment from degradation There is need for continuous and deliberate measures to provide economic instruments to regulate biomass production and use so as to achieve sustainability of supply and protect the environment following Kyoto protocol and Copenhagen resolutions among other environmental protection conventions. There is need to pilot sewage based biogas plants in institutions of higher learning and electricity generation from flower farm waste through. Domestic biogas plants installation under the KENDBIP supported by the Netherlands Government target 8000 plants in 4.5 years by 2014.

It is necessary to encourage users to shift to modern energy sources by encouraging marketers as well as providing incentives to increase production and use of these modern energy sources. There is also need for creating an enabling environment to achieve low and affordable prices for fuels, appliances and equipment, gadgets

There is need to increase funding and resources in the electricity sector to increase clean electricity generation from wind and other green energy sources. This will not

There is need to put in place deliberate measures to improve penetration of renewable technologies by providing fiscal incentives as well as credit facilities for both consumers and providers of energy in this sub sector. The renewable technologies (solar, wind, biogas) are the fuels for rural Kenya since they are stand alone. Moreover, self regulations in the renewable energy sub sector e.g. in solar and other forms of energy to ensure quality supply of products, should be promoted. For a nation that seeks security for energy in order to meet the foreseeable increasing energy demands it is crucial for the government through relevant bodies to formulate and implement Policies and Regulations in Energy Efficiency. This policies and regulations should; be guided by standards and possibly provide incentives for relevant projects. Energy Management Awards by Kenya Association of Manufacturers is an example where energy efficiency practice is encouraged through incentives. References: 1. A C O M P R E H E N S I V E S T U DY A N D A N A LY S I S O N E N E R G Y C O N S U M P T I O N PAT T E R N S I N KENYA - By KIPPRA for ERC 2. Kenya Energy Situation – Energypedia 3. Energy Efficiency Programs – KPLC/ MOE (2012) 4. Performance Based incentives for Energy Efficiency – Murithi Njeru, ERC

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Energy

Did you know that..

55%

⌠ by Eng. Booker Ngesa Omole - Bsc. Mechanical

and Manufacturing Engineering - UoN

..of power generated is lost?

enya largely relies on hydro (55%), thermal (33%) and geothermal (12%). The country is exploring other sources including wind (lake Turkana wind project), Coal (Mui basin coal project), cogeneration (34MW Mumias cogeneration plant) and biofuels. Drought and destruction of water towers that feed the rivers draining into the hydropower dams are widely blamed for the current power crisis. KenGen, the country’s main power generator has from time to time closed its hydropower facilities while others are operating below their installed capacities. Though Kenya experiences periodic power shortages due to natural causes, most power shortages in Kenya are due to negligence, lack of proper maintenance, accidents, vandalisms and thuggery. For example, it has become a common thing for thieves to steal transformers. This brings about sudden power outage. The Kenya Power and Lighting Company may take 2-3 weeks to replace the stolen transformer after receiving numerous reports on the vandalism. Major power consumers like Unilever; Finlay’s have resorted to small privately owned hy dr os t o m a k e th e m m o re efficient. The long-term solution then lies in diversifying sources of electricity generation through greater use of renewable sources like geothermal, small hydro, biomass, cogeneration and wind. However, today I would want to bring another aspect that our power problems are more social than energy infrastructure. It’s easier said that the current power crisis is as a result of government’s failure to make adequate investments in power generation, but wait a minute. Why do we lose 55% of the total power generated? Why would the ambitious plan by jubilee

• Kipevu II power plant

government to increase Kenyan installed capacity to 5000MW be more reactionary than revolutionary? Why is the campaign to eliminate Independent Power Producers (IPPs) more plastic than real? Our peak requirement, which surpasses the installed capacity with upto 100MW, is solely dependent to domestic usage. We observe power overloads in morning when every Kenyan is awake and this increases steadily before a sharp drop at 10am. The drop can go to as low as 60MW. The base plants will still continue to generate to the full installed capacity so the difference then will be lost and this can be upto 1000MW.

29 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Look at then an extreme case where we have an installed capacity of 5000MW and our requirement at that time is just 60 MW then Kenyans would be paying for a loss of 4940MW. This is, for lack of a better word, evil. If then this 5000MW is generated solely from base plants like solar, wind, and hydropower or even nuclear without including the peaking power plants of the IPPs then it becomes almost impossible to manage our instantaneous power requirement. The beauty with the IPPs in as much as they are heavy pollutants is that you can switch off when not required and

Energy

on when you require it. Imagine an engineer trying to stop a wind turbine while the wind is blowing, or Solar when there is a scorching heat from sun, or a hydro turbine when the dam is full of water. It’s really a delegate balance of economics which the Kenyan policy makers must take notice of. Kenyans power problems are more multifaceted and cannot be approached with the simplicity of policy announcements. It’s this mechanical approach that causes rage to the engineers’ fraternity. These quick fix announcements were popular in the 20th century of course you remember the clean water for all campaigns by 1980. Before we then announce populist government policies we must scientifically analyze our problems before we can attempt to suggest any solutions. It’s no rocket science, the policy makers and the political actors must then find ways to increase our base loads to almost equal to our installed generation capacity. This can be done by investment in both heavy and light industries parallel to building our power infrastructure. In a bid to normalize our power consumption patterns, then a 24-hour working economy seems to be the answer. Without a 24-hour economy where the difference between peak and off-peak consumption is reduced to a minimum we run our power generation plants with massive idle capacity. Idle capacity refers to the time spent by a

plant having no useful production going on. This is the difference between theoretical capacity and actual production. During periods of idle capacity, the company gains

It’s no rocket science, the policy makers and the political actors must then find ways to increase our base loads to almost equal to our installed generation capacity. no benefit from having the equipment or paying the employees. Instead, the plant incurs a net expense during such periods.

Say at midnight we have a generation capacity of 1200MW yet we only consume 200MW. The difference goes to waste. Kenya should increase its base load and reduce the degree of consumption fluctuation to increase efficiency before seeking to increase its installed generation capacity. The government should make deliberate policy initiatives towards this end. The government initiatives through industry and 24-hour economy can be complimented by the engineer for example having a small infrastructure for peaking power plants and other solutions like using a turbine as water pumps for overhead tanks or irrigations schemes when you need no generation.

Power Consumption (MW)

A graph of Power consumption against Time of day

Time of day (hrs)

* peak consumption>1300 MW | Kenya’s installed capacity = 1570MW | off peak consumption <100 MW area under graph represents energy consumed

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

The Aquifer

Exploitation takes a turn with discovery of Mega Aquifer

What is an aquifer? t is an underground layer of waterbearing material, such as gravel, sand and silt. Water can be extracted from the aquifer by using a well or borehole.

It is such a layer that has been discovered beneath the arid Turkana region of Northern Kenya. The resource could, if used effectively transform the water and food landscape of Kenya. The sheer scale of the aquifer brings hope to a perennially drought-hit people of Northern Kenya. Its discovery was greeted with optimism as well as skepticism and provides an opportunity for Kenya’s government to make good its intent to build a better country for the current and next generation. The aquifer is located 300 meters below the surface and extends near the borders of South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Uganda, an area sparsely populated and prone to conflict due to resource scarcity and livestock rustling. The Lotikipi Basin Aquifer is located in the northwest region of Kenya and contains 200 billion cubic meters of fresh water covering an area of 4,164 square km. It is nine times the size of the aquifer closest to it in Kenya. The aquifer is replenished from distant mountains. So it should never run dry if it is managed properly. It was discovered by Radar Technologies of France {RTF}, in conjunction with the Kenyan government and UNESCO {United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization}, using satellite, radar, and geological maps along with seismic techniques typically used to locate oil reserves. The project dubbed GRIDMAP {Groundwater Resources Investigation for Drought Mitigation in Africa Programme} is a groundwater mapping project, spearheaded by UNESCO in partnership with the government of Kenya and with the financial support of the Government of Japan. The group of scientists who made this discovery had earlier this year discovered

• Water comes out of a pipe in Lotikipi © ITV News

five aquifers in North West Kenya and began exploratory drilling on two. A much smaller pool of water was found in Lodwar. The discovery of Lotikipi was the largest and officially announced on Wednesday 11th September 2013. UNESCO is also exploring possible new water sources in other African countries such as South Sudan and Ethiopia. Mr. Abou Amani, a scientist from UNESCO who participates in the project told ITV News: “We now have a tool that could not only help Kenya, but it could help other countries facing the issues of water scarcity.” “I’m not saying this could solve all of the problems because from finding water to

FACTS ABOUT LOTIKIPI • • • • •

The aquifer is approximately 100 km by 66 km. It has a surface area of 4,164 km2. It contains an estimated 200 billion cubic metres of fresh water. It is naturally replenished at the rate of about 3.4 billion cubic metres per year. Lotikipi alone holds 900% more than Kenya’s current water reserves.

31 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

providing water to the population is another step because we need to have investment, we need to put in place infrastructure and so on. But we have seen the system and the fact water is there, and that is extremely important and it could be a game changer within the country {Kenya}”. The two main aquifers – the Lotikipi Basin Aquifer and the Lodwar Basin Aquifer – were identified using advanced satellite exploration technology. Their existence was then confirmed by drilling conducted recently by UNESCO. There is still need for further studies to adequately quantify the reserves and to assess the quality of the water. The other three aquifers have been identified in other parts of Turkana but have not yet been confirmed by drilling and would also need to be assessed further. Kenya will share underground water found in Turkana with neighboring Ethiopia, South Sudan and Uganda under an agreement to strengthen their relations. The principal Secretary from the Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Natural Resources Mr. James Teko however said that this would be done once the Kenyan Government gets more advanced technical equipment to exploit the huge Lotikipi Aquifer. “This is after we have ensured that the water is benefiting the people of Turkana first and

The Aquifer we later source for assistance on how to further exploit the water because we can’t do it alone, he adds.” This he said when announcing the discoveries.He however said Turkana residents will start enjoying the water from the Lodwar Aquifer by November 2013. Director of water resources John Rao Nyaoro says in the next two months, residents of Lodwar town will have clean drinking water from the aquifer. “We will be setting up water for domestic use in the coming two months, as we try to establish how the aquifer behaves in terms of recharge” said Mr. Nyaora. M r. N y a o r o s a y s K e n y a ’s a n n u a l consumption stands at three billion cubic metres. The director pointed out that 15,000 acres of land in Lodwar has been earmarked for irrigation and plans are already underway. He adds that Sh100 million have been spent on surveys of the water in Turkana and the government will spend Sh50 million in Marsabit to conduct the same survey. Sh1.5 billion will also be used to carry out mapping in other areas of the country in search of more aquifers. As a result of the underground water Kenya is set to buy water rigs that will be instrumental in drilling, with the cost of one borehole estimated at Sh25 million. Up to 50 boreholes can be set up

• people at Lotikipi sing a water praying song near the pipe of water © ITV News

at the Lotikipi aquifer subject to the amount of water that recharges. “The Kenyan government and other research institutions should conduct studies on a regular basis to assess the potential and the vulnerability of the new water resources. Several factors are constantly at play and monitoring the salinity and how the aquifers are affected by rainfall levels will be necessary,” said Dr. Gachet of RTF. The project employs the use of the WATEX system. RTFs WATEX system uses satellite imaging to accurately identify places that can be drilled for wells with the most chance of success, reducing wastage of resources. WATEX is a proprietary groundwater exploration process used to locate renewable groundwater reserves

in arid and semi-arid environment. The process dramatically improves the ability of humanitarian and development organizations to identify areas suitable for {temporary and permanent} settlement, cultivation, and development. According to RTF, WATEX exploits the evolution of civilian geospatial technology to analyze large, heterogeneous climatic and geologic regions for groundwater potential. The recent trends that have made the use of such technology possible include: •

•

The availability of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) earth observation satellite imagery, which provides highlysensitive geological and hydrological intelligence; The 2003 release of the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) global terrain model, which provides slope and elevation data; 3. The removal of “selective availability” from Global Positioning System (GPS) signals, enabling civilian access to precise location information almost anywhere on the surface of the Earth; The widely appreciated “digital revolution”, which now gives even small firms access to high-power computing, user-friendly analysis software, and rich data archives accessible via the Internet.

The system was developed in 2004 and has been used before to identify water in semi-arid areas of Angola, Chad, Darfur and Afghanistan. Kenya has yielded the largest aquifers. • A cross section of an aquifer

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Power Safety

Safety and Power Availability of LV Assemblies ⌠ by Cyrus Khalusi & Alex Mboa

nternational Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the world’s leading organization for the preparation and publication of International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. These are known collectively as “electrotechnology”. IEC standards provide the users with a framework for economies of design, greater product and service quality, more inter-operability, and better production and delivery efficiency. The standards address key issues with regard to safety, reliability, performance requirements, electromagnetic compatibility, health and environmental concerns associated with the use of electrotechnical equipment/accessories. The IEC standards are based on consensus and knowledge find of the best experts in the world. They provide minimum requirements and test procedures for safe and reliable installations allowing a high availability of the electrical energy. IEC 61439 standard was published in January 2009. It covers low voltage switchgear and control-gear assemblies. The standard gives details on the requirements of these products through testing and other verification methods. It supersedes and replaces the IEC 60439-X series of standards. The switchboard can be viewed as the ‘heart’ of an electrical installation and the availability of power downstream is generally dependent on the integrity of the switchboard. It is used to house and protect the control and protective devices together with electrical and mechanical connections from external influences. It provides a point to monitor the state of the installation while offering protection to user against accidents (direct contact protection, indirect contact protection and fire risks). The LV switchboard has to be safe. This can be guaranteed if the switchboard complies with the requirements of the new standard (IEC 61439).

Why the Change to new standard? Over the years designs and market needs have evolved such that IEC 60439 no longer encompasses many commonly used arrangements. For example, modular systems are not effectively covered with respect to temperature rise performance. It is not practical to fully type test every conceivable configuration of assembly produced. Where type testing is not feasible, there have to be alternative ways of ensuring an assembly meets the minimum required safety and performance criteria. The new standard aims to limit the extent of assemblies in the market not complying by always requiring full design verification of all assemblies while permitting flexibility of whether to actually conduct a test or use another method of verification as specified in the standard. The IEC 61439 series replaces the old IEC 60439 standard series following dissatisfaction over the use of the series which were lacking in several areas such as: •

• •

Grey area between type tested (TTA) and partially type tested assemblies (PTTA); In case of PTTA, it was difficult to check compliance with IEC 60439; More and more PTTA assemblies put on the market do not comply with the standard;

33 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

•

Manufacturers who have tested and are complying with IEC 60439 are unable to compete with these non complying assemblies;

Many manufacturers request partial type tests. It seems that many end customers accepted this, however it was not sufficient. Methods for proving the design of a ‘partially type tested assembly’ in accordance with IEC 60439-1 are weak and rely entirely on the capability and integrity of assembly designer. This has led to many assemblies, which are Partially Type Tested Assemblies (PTTA), in the market today not complying with the standard. As a result, manufacturers who have Type Tested Assemblies and are complying with IEC 60439 are disadvantaged as they are competing with non- conforming assemblies. It is also difficult to clarify the grey area between Type Tested Assemblies (TTA) and Partially Type Tested Assemblies (PTTA). Some assemblies do not fit in either category and as such are not covered by the relevant IEC standard. Grey areas like diversity factor, rating of neutral conductor and the kind of separation provided by device’s integral enclosures are not adequately addressed by IEC 60439. Major Changes between the old standards and IEC 61439 IEC 61439-X is a significant change from

Power Safety

IEC 60439-X; one of the most surprising changes being the removal of the terms ‘Type Tested Assemblies (TTA)’ and ‘Partially Type Tested Assemblies (PTTA)’; concepts which have been replaced with ‘tested’ ASSEMBLY. The IEC 61439 series is clearly structured and is comparable in structure with product standards like IEC 60947. Each generic type of assembly has a product-specific Part within the series of standards which references applicable clauses within the General Rules and details any specific requirements about the particular generic type of assembly. Any clause in the General Rules that is not called up in the productspecific Part does not apply. Table 1 gives a comparison between the structure of the new and the old standard. There is also a clear emphasis on fitness for purpose by the new standard. The new standard requires that the capability of each assembly be verified in two stages. The third major change from the previous standard is the recognition of testing. The new standard recognizes the fact that designs and design verification are portable. For example a type test certificate obtained in South Africa for a design carried out in the UK, is valid for an assembly manufactured in Kenya. It is of note also to state that the standard recognizes the fact that two manufacturers might be involved between concept design and delivery of the assembly: the Original Manufacturer being responsible for the basic design and

its verification and possibly the provision of the assembly in a kit form and the Assembly Manufacturer who completes and routine tests the final assembly. Clear definitions of the roles of the two manufacturers are given in the new standard. The Original Manufacturer (System manufacturer) carries out the original design in addition to undertaking the design verifications that can be certified through a certification body whereas it is the responsibility of the ASSEMBLY Manufacturer (Panel Builder) to complete and carry out routine verification to the final Assembly. In case the ASSEMBLY Manufacturer incorporates their own design, then they are responsible for design verification. Lack of clarity in a number of grey areas in the previous standard has been addressed by the new standard. For example, the diversity factor assumes that the outgoing circuits are partially loaded, unless otherwise stated neutral conductors will have a current rating equal to 50% of the associated phase and the device’s integral enclosure, for example the case of molded case circuit breaker, provides adequate separation. In addition, the substitution of a device with an equivalent, for example a mccb, in a verified assembly (without new verification) is very tightly controlled. Where the devices are from the same manufacturer, IEC 61439 requires assurance from the device manufacturer and, if the alternative device is from another manufacturer, it is unlikely to

Old

New

Title

IEC 60439-1

IEC 61439-1

General Rules

IEC 60439-1

IEC 61439-2

Power switchgear and controlgear assemblies

IEC 60439-2

IEC 61439-6

Busbar trunking systems

IEC 60439-3

IEC 61439-3

Distribution boards

IEC 60439-4

IEC 61439-4

Assemblies for construction sites

IEC 60439-5

IEC 61439-5

Assemblies for power distribution in public networks

IEC 60439-7

IEC 61439-7

Assemblies for specific installations at public sites

None

IEC/TR 61439-0

Guidance to specifying Assemblies

meet the standard. Requirement s regarding temperature rise have be clarified. The standard introduces three possible methods of performing temperature rise tests: •

separately plus the complete assembly including busbars; •

Considering functional units, main and distribution busbars and the assembly collectively;

•

Considering individual functional units and busbars separately plus complete assembly.

These changes are as summarized in table 2 below. “ (see next page) ”

Design Verification Design verification is intended to verify compliance of the design of the assembly with the requirements of the IEC 61439 standards. Design verification shall be achieved by the application of one or more of the following equivalent and alternative methods that are deemed appropriate: testing, calculation, physical measurement of the validation of design rules. The design verification in IEC 61439 has be split into constructional and performance requirements. The design verification of an ASSEMBLY concerning the Construction shall comprise the following: • • • • • •

Table 1 - Comparison of the structure of the new and old standard

Considering individual functional units

•

Strength of materials and parts Degree of protection of enclosures Clearances and creepage distances Protection against electrical shock and integrity of protective circuits Incorporation of switching devices and components I n t e r n a l e l e c t r i c a l c i rc u i t s a n d connections Terminals for external conductors

Design verification of an ASSEMBLY concerning performance shall comprise of the following: •

Dielectric properties

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Power Safety IEC 61439 Series

IEC 60439 Series

Deals with Power Switchgear and control gear assemblies

Deals with Type-tested and partially type-tested assemblies

Clearly structured and comparable with apparatus standard IEC 60947: IEC 61439-1 General rules IEC 61439-0 Guide for specifying assemblies IEC 61439-2,....-6 Subsidiary parts (product standar)

Mix of different rules and determination in each part

Each subsidiary part is based on the general rules (Part 1) and includes only the specific additional rules for the actual product.

Each part is a complete part and can be used by itself

A new approach of three methods of verification: Test, calculation, design rules

Testing each type of combination Partially type-tested or type-tested

Agreements between Customer and manufacturer are more detailed and extended.

Agreements betweeb Customer and Manufacturer not detailed

Technical changes: Diversity factor is more clearly defined Verification of temperature rise limits has been extended Neutral conductor cross section is raised to a minimum of 50% PEN minimum 50% • • • •

Temperature rise Short-circuit withstand strength Electromagnetic compatibility Mechanical operation

Routine verification Routine verification is intended to detect faults in materials and workmanship and to ascertain proper functioning of the manufactured ASSEMBLY. It is done on every ASSEMBLY. The standard requires the ASSEMBLY manufacturer to determine if routine verification is carried out during and/or after manufacture. The routine verification in IEC 61439 has been split into constructional and performance requirements. The routine verification of an ASSEMBLY concerning the Construction shall comprise the following: • Degree of protection of enclosures • Clearances and creepage distances • Protection against electrical shock and integrity of protective circuits • Incorporation of switching devices and components • I n t e r n a l e l e c t r i c a l c i rc u i t s a n d connections • Terminals for external conductors • Mechanical operation The routine verification of an assembly concerning the performance shall consist of the following: • Dielectric properties • Wiring, operational performance and function

Table 2 - Summary of Changes

Characteristics to be verified

Verification Options available By Testing

By Calculation

By Design Rules

Strength of materials and parts

Yes

Degree of protection

Yes

Clearance and creepage of distance

Yes

Effective continuity between parts and PE

Yes

Effectiveness of the assembly for external

Yes

faults 6.

Incorporating of apparatus

Yes

Internal electrical circuits and connections

Yes

Terminal for external conductors

Yes

Power Frequency withstand voltage

Yes

10.

Impulse withstandvoltage

Yes

11.

Temperature rise

Yes

12.

Short Cicuit withstand strength

Yes

13.

EMC

Yes

14.

Mechanical operation

Yes

No Table 3 - Verification

Conclusion The new IEC 61439 series has clarified a number of imprecise requirements in the old standard. Previously a manufacturer was required to assign a current rating to each circuit but never required to verify its rating. This has been addressed in the new standard, which now requires that the manufacturer to verify the rating of each circuit. To ensure every assembly meets its defined design requirements, design verification is required for all assemblies. The

35 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

new standard offers a flexible approach to doing design verification with well-defined options. By removing the discrimination between Type Tested Assembly and Partially Type Tested Assembly and replacing them with a “tested” Assembly and removal of ambiguities, the number assemblies in the market complying with the standard will increase. This shall improve the overall safety in installations.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

PROFILE

Engineering is the only profession dedicated to wealth creation the editorial board ns Prof. Kachieng’a joi

e is a family guy with three children- one boy and two girls. He is 56 years of age which is hard to believe given his vibrant personality, it must be his passion for engineering which, be warned, might be infectious. He holds an MSc (Distinction) in Electrical Engineering from Moscow Technological University (MTU) a PhD in Biomedical Engineering (1999) and BCom (Honours) in Financial Analysis in 2001 from the University of Cape Town. He is currently the Deputy ViceChancellor at the Technical University of Kenya in-charge of Research, Innovation and Enterprises. His duties include: Management and facilitation of strategic research engagements and collaborations, Management and profiling of innovation; and new products development opportunities and generation of new products and services from innovation opportunities and potentials. He is Professor Michael Ogembo Kachieng’a. After an interactive session with the Professor, Kenya Engineer filed the following profile.

What did you want to be when you grew up?

In a nutshell, give us your employment history.

Initially I wanted to be a jet-fighter pilot (not commercial) but my parents were not amused. At one stage I toyed with the idea of being a pediatrician but I never liked biology and bisecting frogs. It was too smelly for my liking. I like children because they are honest when sick. Adults cheat or lie when sick.

From 1981 to 1989 I worked as a Design / Project Engineer at Bamburi Portland Cement, and then lectured in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Nairobi from 1990 to 1994. In 1996 I joined the University of Cape Town to pursue my PhD in Biomedical Engineering and worked as a Lecturer in the same institution until 1999. From 2001 to 2011 I was a Professor in Technological Entrepreneurship (engineering & Finance) at the University of Pretoria. As of 2012 to present I am the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the Technical University of Kenya.

I specialized in Industrial Drives and Automation systems at university. The magical nature of automation systems excites me. The engineering mathematics behind of automation systems is fairly complex, but that makes the design of automation systems technically simple. Automation system is the technical convergence of engineering ingenuity and nature’s simplicity. Imitating nature’s functionality is the technical cornerstone of automation. I was privileged as a Design Engineer at Bamburi cement to design automatic electric drive systems from quarry (raw materials) to Cement Parking Plant (finished products). Cement manufacturing is technically complex and but it is professionally rewarding to engineers. It provides insights into various technologies of manufacturing. Manufacturing defines the national industrialization agenda of a country. Engineering in my case is innate and I am comfortable providing solution to technical problems. Engineering helps you discover your stupidity almost immediately. When you are wrong nothing works. Engineering is the most beautiful and productive profession. We write the storyline of economic growth and human development. Through technological innovations we design the roadmap to the Future.

Any major highlights you can outline in your engineering career? Yes. In 1981, I developed an Artificial Heart Equipment that won the National Award. I also successfully supervised and graduated over 40 (PhD/MSc) students (2001 -2013). My work covered in over 20 refereed journal papers and over 36 popular academic papers and case studies has been published. I am a member of several Professional bodies like the New York Academy of Sciences. I am a columnist, and it’s an honor to have my work featured in The Standard (Kenya), Diplomat East Africa (Kenya); Engineering News (SA), Financial Mail (SA) amid other publications. What do you do when not on duty? I read and write articles on engineering and finance (as a columnist). I also enjoy listening to classical Rumba Music and like grounding myself through farming. My brain is in engineering and my heart is in farming. What challenges, if any, do Kenyans face while undertaking their engineering career? It is the law of nature that the brightest are

37 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

PROFILE

not the richest in our society. We should provide full scholarships to our bright pupils to pursue cutting-edge engineering specialties like tissue engineering, bioe l e c t r o n i c s , b o dy e n g i n e e r i n g a n d others. Those are the engineers who will manufacture E-skins and human body parts. We have to invest in our best to expect the performance and productivity. The future of engineering is exciting and sexy. Engineers invent the future. What role are Engineers in general playing in driving Kenya’s visions 2030? Vision 2030 can only be achieved through competitive industrialization and enhanced agricultural productivity. Industrialization and agriculture will be the main sustainable GDP drivers towards

Vision 2030 as an Emerging Economy. We have to invest technological innovations and new product development because competition in the global markets is through marketable commercial products and services. Innovation is the best kept secret for economic development and social change; and engineers are best at it. Do you believe we have internal capacity as a country to achieve the goals specified in this vision? Yes. We have the potential internal capacity which must be nurtured to become strategic. We need to identify technology platforms that are the main drivers of our industrialization and economy. We must define our technological roadmap to achieve our economic targets.

What would be your advice and parting shot to upcoming engineers? Read deep to understand engineering fundamentals and then diversify when it comes to applications. The intrinsic economic value of engineering resides in applications. I would like to see more engineers as industrialists and technoentrepreneurs rather than engineering workers. Engineering is the only profession dedicated to wealth creation. All other professions are just service providers. The 21 st century is driven by technological innovations; it makes it both economic and professional that engineers serve in all strategic national commissions to guide the future of Kenya.

Kenya Engineer Magazine @KENYAENGINEER

www.kenyaengineer.co.ke

Innovation

“Article continued from September/October Issue”

The Emerging Kenyan Innovation System and the Future of Engineering Education Key Institutions created by the Science Technology and innovation Act 2013 TVET institutions, primary and secondary system as well as the ICT-based research and education network as represented by KENET. Although innovations are generated in all areas of research and education, it is the innovations arising from commercializing science and engineering research output that is the focus of this article. Although most the components in the innovation system have existed in Kenya, the linkages among the components have not been explicitly defined or governed. This is what KENIA is expected to achieve.

⌠ by Prof. Meoli Kashorda - A Lecturer in the Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University of Nairobi, He also chairs the Editorial Board.

he ST&I Act 2013 created the following three key institutions:

The National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation, the successor to the National Council for Science and Technology. This is mainly the regulator of the science technology, research and innovations sector. The Kenya National Innovation Agency (KENIA), a new body whose mandate is to develop and manage the Kenya National Innovation System. The National Research Fund (NRF) that will manage a fund amounting to 2% of the national GDP for the purpose of funding research and innovations in Kenya. This is a new institution.

Apart from the National Commission for Science Technology and Innovations, all of the other institutions had not been established as of June 30, 2013. It is the Cabinet Secretary in charge of Education, Science and Technology who shall establish the other institutions. In the following, we briefly describe the intended structure of the new institutions.

The Kenya National Innovation Agency This is the new body that will develop and manage the Kenyan innovation system. Clause 29 of the Act lists all of the functions of the agency which include: •

Institutionalizing the linkages between universities, research institutes, the private sector and the Government; • Cause creation of science and innovation parks, institutes or schools and centers of excellence; • N u r t u r e i n n ova t ive i d e a s f r o m individuals, training institutions and private sector; • Establish an innovation award system; • Develop the national capacity and infrastructure to protect and exploit intellectual property from research financed by the agency; • Identify strategic fields of innovation and provide incubators for innovative ideas. KENIA will operationalize the innovation system. Notice that KENIA shall be part of the governance system while a critical subsystem is the education of research system that includes universities, research institutes,

39 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

The National Research Fund The main purpose of the fund is to facilitate science and engineering research that ultimately the innovation output of Kenya. This means enhancing the research infrastructure of Kenya that includes building the human capacity for research and provision of the necessary information and knowledge infrastructure and broadband connectivity to support collaboration of researchers. The NRF shall consist of the following sums of money: • 2% of the country’s GDP. Currently the total spend on research and development is about 0.5% of the National Budget and the 2% is a dramatic increase in the amount of money that will be set aside for research and innovations. • Donations, endowments, grants or gift from other sources that is designated to the fund • Research license fees A Board of Trustees appointed by the Cabinet Secretary responsible for science technology and innovations shall manage the fund. As of June 2013, the Cabinet Secretary for Education shall appoint the Board of Trustees. The Act gives guidelines on the composition of the Board of Trustees. As the funding agency, it will be part of the research governance system as shown in Figure 1 and will monitor the utilization

Innovation

of the fund to increase the research and innovation output of Kenya in priority areas. The Future of Engineering Education and Research The foundation for Kenya’s Vision 2030 is Science, Engineering and Technology. This means that there is a need for developing a critical mass of engineers and technologists to support the innovation system. The Kenyan education system must then generate students strong with Science Technology Engineering and Math or STEM skills and to link engineering schools in universities with business schools that will incubate the engineering innovations. The Kenyan education system is ranked highly in comparison even to more developed countries like South Africa. Table 1 compares Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and South Korea based on the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Competitiveness 2013 pillars on Higher Education and Innovation. Notice that WEF. The total number of countries ranked in the report is 144. Notice that the Quality of Education system of Kenya is ranked 37 out of 144, ahead of South Korea at 44. Kenya is also ahead of South Africa in terms of the quality of Math and Science Education at position 76 compared to 143 for South. But South Korea is now way ahead of Kenya at position 8, explaining some of their successes in innovation. Kenya also has a capacity for innovation that is comparable to that of South Korea at positions 46 and 41 respectively. Kenya is also considered to have relatively high quality scientific research institutions at position 50 out of 144 (South Korea is at position 24/144). In almost all the higher education and innovation pillars, Kenya is way ahead of the neighboring countries even in terms of availability of scientists and engineers. This suggests that the problem for Kenya is the efficiency and effectiveness of the National Innovation System. However, there is still a need to increase the University-Company collaboration (position 41 out 144) as well as availability of engineers’ indicators at position 68. This will require a review of the curriculum and deliberately seeking input

Kenya Uganda

Tanzania South Africa

South Korea

Quality of Education System

140

Quality of Science and Maths Education

108

122

143

Capacity for Innovation

102

Quality of Scientific Research Institutions

University Company collaboration in R & D

Availability of Scientists and Engineers

105

122

Source: World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2012-2013 (5)

from local industry. There is also a need to continue increasing the quality of math and science education in high schools (76 out 144 compared to only 8 out 144 for South Korea). Innovation is highly dependent on the quality of Math and Science education. Universities and engineering schools also need to nurture and incubate innovative ideas of the undergraduate and graduate students. This means not only improving the quality of the faculty teaching in universities and technical institutes but also improving the quality of the learning environment for the students. Moreover, there is need to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among engineering and technology students and to link engineering schools with business schools. Improving the quality of learning e nv i r o n m e n t m e a n s u p g ra d i n g t h e laboratory and research facilities of the engineering schools. This is an area that has not received adequate attention for the leading engineering schools. The government of Kenya has recently announced that it is working with Africa Development Bank in a program to improve the quality and throughput of graduate engineering education and to upgrade the laboratory facilities of six universities that offer engineering education (see the Higher Education Science and Technology project for improving the capacity of engineering schools in Kenya Conclusions Kenya has a special focus increasing the innovation output of Kenya for socioeconomic development. The new ST&I Act

of 2013 is very ambitious and creates a new agency to promote innovation, called the Kenya Innovation Agency (KENIA). In addition, Kenya aims to create for the first time a National Research Fund with the ambitious target of 2% of GDP. This is a significant investment in research considering that the current research spend is estimated at only 0.5% of the annual expenditure. The achievement of the goals of the ST&I Act 2013 requires reforms in engineering education and research. First, there is a need to build engineering research capacity of Kenya and to increase the throughput of graduates at Masters and PhD levels. This will in turn lead to an increase in the innovation output of the country measured in terms of patents and innovations that can be commercialized. This will require upgrade in the laboratory and research environment of the schools of engineering and creating linkages with business schools and business incubation centers. All of these changes shall require new leadership at both the university level and in the schools of engineering and business in Kenyan universities. There is also need for an initial independent audit of the facilities and human resources available at leading engineering schools. The Cabinet Secretary also needs to create KENIA and to establish the National Research Fund as soon as possible. Kenya now has an enabling legal framework for dramatically increasing its innovation output and therefore to create new jobs.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Water

Devolution of Water Services and enhancing the gains ⌠ by Engineer Peter Njaggah

1.0

Introduction.

he National Water Policy of 1999 and the Water Act 2002 (Act) triggered extensive reforms to Kenya’s water sector, bringing it in line with international best practice. The reforms have since significantly improved water resources management and water services delivery to the benefit of citizens. For the water services subsector, this was achieved on the basis of a clear separation of policy making, regulation and service provision. Notable successes have been achieved over the last eight (8) years in water services provision. At the same time, a number of challenges and weaknesses with respect to existing policy, legislation and practice have been identified. The enactment of the new Constitution of Kenya (CoK 2010) has placed an obligation on all sectors/ Ministries to align their existing policies and legislation. This present a good opportunity for the water services sector to take on board in the new legal framework the lessons learned from the reform process commenced with the Water Act 2002. Towards this end, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural resources has drafted new water policy and a Water Bill 2012 aligning its frameworks to the CoK 2010. Further the Constitution of Kenya 2010 has devolved the responsibility for the provision of effective and efficient water supply and sanitation services to the Counties. It has also recognized the right of all citizens to safe water and basic sanitation, (Art 43) and the right of all consumers to be provided with goods of reasonable quality which not only protect their health but also safeguard their economic interests (Art 46). The CoK (2010) expects the State to take policy, legislative and other measures, such as setting of standards, to ensure that these rights are progressively realized (Art. 21(1)). 1.1. Lesson learnt and what to safeguard under devolution. a) Ring-fencing of revenues from water services. Wasreb has for the last 8 years been nurturing ring fencing of water services

revenues to ensure that the water companies are able to perform the services optimally. If this ring fencing and separation is not protected under devolution, water services will slide back to the pre-reform era, where the water services sector revenue was used to fund everything else in the defunct local authorities and no money was put back to operate and maintain the assets or even to pay back the loans. Consequently water service provision was characterised by poor governance, accountability and poor services. This trend has been reversed in the last 8 year and its imperative that the gains that have been painfully nurtured in the last 8 years continue to be enhanced. Wasreb, therefore advices that ring fencing of the water services revenues must continue if the right to water under article 43 of the Constitution is to be achieved and if any loans taken over the last 8 years from the World Bank, African Development Bank, AFD and KfW are to be repaid.

(WSPs) are commercially viable. This in turn requires the realization of economies of scale, which can only be achieved where utilities reach a certain minimum size. WSPs which are too small to be viable therefore need to be aggregated to larger units. Against this background, the Water Services Regulatory Board (Wasreb) has undertaken an assessment of the options to achieve commercial viability and financial sustainability of formalized WSPs at county and cross-county level. The objective of the viability assessment is to provide County Governments with an overview of the commercial viability and financial sustainability of formalized WSPs within their area of jurisdiction and to identify suitable options to ensure adequate and cost-effective service delivery through the concentration of Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Services under one licensed, commercial Water Service Provider (WSP) at county or cross-county level.

b) Commercial viability and Financial sustainability in provision of water services. For water services to be delivered in an efficient and effective manner and in order to gradually extend access to all, it is imperative that water service providers

c) Professional management and development of water services to date. A s s e t s a r e c u r r e n t l y d e ve l o p e d and held by the Water Services Boards and managed by the Water Service Providers. Under the new dispensation,

41 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Water management, development and holding of assets will need to be through the Water Service Providers as appointed agents of the Counties. This is in order to ensure that assets are kept in a condition allowing adequate revenue generation for uninterrupted, sustainable asset operation, further investments and repayment of loans attached to the developed assets. F u r t h e r, c r o s s - c o u n t y a s s e t s o f national interest (such as for bulk water supply) shall be managed and held at a supra-county level in order to ensure that general public interest is preserved. d) Management of water sources. Management of water sources used for service provision across counties is part of water resource management and therefore a national function. The development of shared resources requires planning, financing and implementation at a regional and national level through a basin management approach, following natural boundaries, so as to ensure a need based allocation of water for the sustainable development of the country as a whole. For that reason, and in the same vein as crosscounty assets, bulk water services will need to be operated at a supra-county level. e) Investment into the water services sector. Since the beginning of the reforms in 2002, a positive trend in sector funding has been registered with urban water coverage

standing now at about 53%. The Vision 2030 that seeks to propel the country to a middle level economy envisions water services for all by the year 2030. Clearly huge investment will be required in the next 17 years to realise the Vision 2030 dream and intervention by donors/ development partners will be paramount. By appearing to erode on the gains made would be to send the wrong signals to donors/development funds and is likely to reverse the positive trend in sector funding. f) Propoor Focus Global trends indicate that 2/3 of the global population will migrate to the urban settlement and the majority will leave in informal settlement. Therefore progress in coverage and realization of the right to water services can only be rapidly achieved by focusing on the informal settlement where underserved are living. Customers in low-income areas are part of a profitable market as illustrated by financial institutions who have realized that there are business opportunities in low income areas. g) Human Right to Water and Sanitation. The Bill of Rights gives all citizens the right to safe water and basic sanitation and thereby obliges the State a n d C o u n t y G ove r n m e n t s , a s d u t y bearers, to take necessary measures for the progressive realization of the right and show these to the public.

• Ndakaini Dam

In a context of rapid population growth and urbanization, this means that significant investments will have to be undertaken which will need to create a real impact in terms of improved water and sanitation coverage. This in turn requires utilities which are commercially viable, operate according to good corporate governance principles, which are accountable to the national regulator and the public and are therefore in a position to operate efficiently and attract finances for investments not only from the public but also the private sector. Therefore a close collaboration between the State and County Governments, and the Water Services Regulator guided by national policy and legislation will be key to successfully improve service delivery now and into the future. h) National Regulation of Water Services The provision of piped water and sanitation services is very capital intensive. Further it is a natural monopoly, with no real market competition .Hence any unregulated operator is likely to abuse its dominant position to charge excessive tariffs while at the same time providing poor services. Access to water services is a basic need and a human right which needs to be fulfilled, and at the same time the provision of the service involves costs which need to be recovered for sustainable services. The collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater is a precondition for a cleaner environment, improved public health, and the attainment of economic and social development. Regulation ensures that water services are provided in a manner that protects consumers and the environment and helps to reconcile the social and economic nature of water services. Regulation entails making sure that utilities, through their tariffs, are in a position to recover justified costs for commercial sustainability and at the same time ensuring affordability to the poor through a progressive tariff structure and regulated prices at public outlets. It involves monitoring of utility operations according to set standards, enforcing the licenses issued to them and reporting their performance to the public. All this is to ensure transparency, accountability, compliance and progressive i m p r ove m e n t i n s e r v i c e p r ov i s i o n .

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Innovation

IMAGINEERING: The Business of Inventing in the Future Imagination is everything, it is the preview of life’s coming attractions ~ Albert Einstein

⌠ by Prof. Michael Kachieng’a

he two major disciplines which add direct value to engineering training and practice are mathematics and physics. Of course, other disciplines contribute to the engineering practice and applications. Mathematics is a digitally honest discipline - you either know it or you don’t. Mathematics helps you discover your personal stupidity almost immediately. It gives the true value of your brain-power beyond any logical doubt. The power of mathematics resides in its simplicity. Mathematical truth is like the Ten Commandments - there is no imitation or substitute. There seems to be some strange human characteristics that like to make easy things difficult. Mathematics brings simplicity and order in our lives. Mathematics is not like greed-induced disciplines such as politics or law where people pretend to know what they don’t know. With mathematics the results are instant and revealing. You cannot camouflage your ignorance with some dubious philosophical arguments.

Mathematics is a discipline of numbers and numbers tell the plain truth without any judicial or spiritual bias. The genius of mathematical faith resides in the purity of numbers. One needs the mathematical purity to tease out the value of technological innovations in the modern economy. Physics is a rather intimidating discipline because it forces you to imagine that which is neither visible nor tangible. There are no units to measure imagination, therefore you cannot figure out how smart you are. Where there are no units anything can be right or wrong in relative terms. Think of the theory of relativity with its double logic reality. Physics forces you to stretch your imaginations indefinitely, with a possibility of landing you into a mental hospital if you overstretch your thinking capacity. Physics defines processes and processes are defined by environment and final outputs. In physics, the usual order of events is that an experiment will reveal a result. Theoretical physicists will then generate an explanation, if at all. The right answers in the labs might

43 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

turn-out to be wrong in the real world. A separation between lab results and real world results is very critical when the prototypes of new engineered products developed from technological innovations. Prototypes of new products do not become market products automatically. Normally, prototypes need to be re-configured to meet manufacturability and marketable requirements. In engineering practice, mathematics helps in measuring the technological value; while physics assists in understanding of the engineering processes in manufacturing. Manufacturing processes influence the cost of production, and eventually product pricing. The practical convergence of mathematics and physics is the aesthetic signature of excellence in engineering practice. Competitive knowledge of mathematics and physics gives the edge in the engineering practice and technique applications. But engineering is not the total sum or product of mathematics and

Innovation physics. The intrinsic value of engineering resides in the integrated application of the two disciplines concurrently. The practical convergence of advanced engineeringmathematics and engineering-physics in processing the future technological values is the core of new discipline called Imagineering – which is the epicentre of technological innovations. The main challenge to Imagineering is how to define the problems which will occur in an imaginary future. Theoretically, common problems require common solutions and complex problems require complex solutions. Since solutions are rarely predetermined before-hand, complexity and simplicity generally trade places in the process of solving such Imagineering problems. Imagineering derives its power from scientific inventions, discoveries and technological innovations. The objective of Imagineering is to make economic and social sense of innovations in science and technology. The purpose of Imagineering research is to provide premium solutions to societal problems today as well as tomorrow using scientific and technological techniques. There are two major types of technological innovations – incremental and radical. Incremental innovation tends to add value to the cost-effectiveness of the performance or functionality of an already existing product or process. Radical innovation is geared towards the creation of new products, new industries and new markets. Imagineering research is a creative occupation based on the continuous extension of applied imagination. Fundamentally, there are two types of imagination - synthesis and creative imagination. Applied imagination is the generator of incremental and radical innovations. Incremental innovation tends to find solutions to technological problems “inside the box”, while radical innovation provide solutions “outside the box”. Radical innovation is a process with unpredictable outcomes, but more often than not, it produces economically rewarding outcomes. The creation of new products and services for the broader benefit of society

• Mind thinking

is what radical innovation is all about. The deeper purpose of radical innovation is to open new technological and economic frontiers for the benefit of the humanity.

Applied imagination is the generator of incremental and radical innovations. Incremental innovation tends to find solutions to technological problems “inside the box”, while radical innovation provide solutions “outside the box”.

Synthesis imagination is based on a comparative analysis of facts with the focus on any ambiguities or dissonance of a specific logical sequence or mathematical algorithm. The logic is that if any dissonance is corrected or reduced, the performance of the system will be enhanced or its efficiency will be increased. The aim is to increase the economic value of a product / service and enhance its competitiveness. The economic value of the product determines its price in the market place. Incremental innovation is the cash cow of many established businesses. It is based on refining manufacturing processes, product features and functionality in order to satisfy market requirements.

In simple terms, creative imagination encompasses “thinking out of the box”. It is the source of radical innovations. In commercial terms radical innovation redefines the rules of the game at both industry and market levels. A good example of radical innovation is the paradigm shift from landline telephony to cellular telephony. Both systems provide communication from differentiated technological platforms with differentiated industrial infrastructure and differentiated market structures and customers. Conceptually, radical innovation means new products or services, new industries, new market offerings and new economies. That is why entrepreneurial governments invest in innovation research. The goal of innovation is to facilitate the future sustainability of humanity in both social and economic terms. Imagineering is a creation of the future using the current engineering knowledge-platforms plus extension of futuristic applied imaginations. Applied imagination is the beginning of creation. It is the workshop of the mind where the future is visualised, designed and virtually manufactured. As American Scientist, Alan Kay once stated, “The best way to create the future is to invent it”. Imagineering is the engineering of inventing the future.

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

2013

eWMC 3rd Annual

Effluent & Water Management Conference

5th - 6th December 2013

Laico Regency Hotel Nairobi Kenya

To Sponsor this Event ruth@aidembs.com

To Speak at the Event ruth@aidembs.com

To attend as Delegate maggy@aidembs.com

Keynote Speakers

To attend as Media

Prof. Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Environment, Water & Natural Resources - Kenya

hellen@aidembs.com

Prof. Jumanne Abdallah Maghembe, Minister Ministry of Water and Irrigation Tanzania

EWMC 2013: It has been Africa's Largest and Most Influential Annual Gathering for 2 Years Endorsed by

Strategic Partners

Media Partners

Exhibition

Sidelines

The exhibition runs alongside the conference and provides a showcase for the latest developments in the industry, new financial services product launches and innovative solutions, with an emphasis on improving efficiency and performance.

In addition to the substantial information exchange and knowledge transfer that takes place at the main WIBC sessions, there is also significant value to be gained from activities and discussions that take place on the sidelines of the main conference. From international press briefings to informal networking, the WIBC Sidelines are a creative environment conducive to getting the most from your participation.

To Participate | Contact us on 45

Bringing the Industry Leaders on One Platform - That is what we do! P.O. Box 64451, Nairobi, Kenya | t. +254 202218114 | f. +254 20 2228325 Email: ewmc@aidembs.com www.aidembs.com/effluent_conference/ KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013 Website: Aidem Business Solutions Leading Brands!

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Technology

IEEE kicks off standardization works for EPEAT (EPEAT - Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool)

• IEEE ex President signs the visitor’s book when he paid a courtesy call to the KCA Vice Chancellor Prof Noah Midamba

EEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, announced today that its working groups will immediately kick off the development process to create standards for the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool ( EPEAT®) registry. Th e U n i t e d S t a t e s E n v i r o n m e n t a l Protection Agency (USEPA) defines EPEAT as an easy-to-use resource for purchasers, manufacturers, resellers and others wanting to find out the electronic products positive environmental attributes. “ EPEAT registers products that meet the IEEE 1680 family of Environmental Assessment Standards which includes the IEEE 1680.1 product standard for specific environmental performance criteria for computer desktops, laptops and monitors, IEEE P1680.2 standards for imaging equipment and IEEE P1680.3 product standard for televisions,” USEPA says on its website site.

The development is likely to resonate well with standards bodies and environmental protection authorities in East Africa that have been seeking universal systems to qualify standards of products being shipped into the continent. In July, IEEE announced its plan to move the IEEE 1680 standards forward. Since then, working groups have been established for IEEE P1680.1, Standard for Environmental A s s e s s m e n t o f Pe r s o n a l C o m p u t e r Products, and the IEEE P1680.4, Standard for Environmental Assessment of Servers. Deeply rooted in a broad consensus from organizations of all sizes and across all technologies, the IEEE standards process is globally respected and accepted as an established framework for driving environmentally friendly innovations across the globe. “Developing standards for the EPEAT registry for greener electronics needs to

remain an open and inclusive process that involves all key stakeholders continuing to transform how technology products are manufactured and that the process is highly environmentally conscious,” said Chuck Walrad, Vice President of Standards, and Computer Society. “We are looking forward to driving that process to develop standards that may be used to qualify products for the EPEAT registry and that will continue to benefit humanity throughout the world.” IEEE has over 430,000 members; is one of the world’s largest developers of standards with over 900 standards in its catalog. Some of its well known standards include Wi-Fi <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wi-Fi> under the IEEE 802.11 standards for wireless networks, Bluetooth (IEEE 802.15.1<http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth>) and WiMAX <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ WiMAX> (IEEE 802.16). IEEE publishes approximately 150 technical journals and research papers, which are available

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

Technology

electronically to technologists around the world. Its sponsors about 1300 expert level conferences each year and each month about 8 million articles are downloaded from the IEEE electronic library. Today most engineers around the world are its members. Africa has had a low number of engineer members of the IEEE due to a limited extent in engineering collaborations, opportunities and knowledge sharing. But this is expected to change with IEEE adopting a new strategy in Africa that will involve direct participation. The strategy is being pursued by the IEEE global administration led by President and CEO Dr. Peter Staecker which is due to make its second mission in Africa this November to find out how it can be better involved in deepening engineering education in the continent. Kenya will be one of the countries the IEEE mission will

tour a second time. In April this year, in the first mission in Kenya, Dr Staecker held meetings with senior government officials including cabinet and principal secretaries in the ICT, Industrialization and Education ministries. IEEE members said that this first mission had a great impact on the IEEE strategy in Africa and that major projects had already been initiated by the body as part of its ground work for wider participation locally. “As a result of the first mission in April, IEEE identified lack of access to online libraries and digital engineering resources by engineering educators and students as a major challenge in engineering education in East Africa. It is already facilitating the formation of a consortium of East African universities to subsidize the access to

the IEEE Electronic Library that is used worldwide by learning and practicing engineers,” says Prof. Robert Gateru, Principal of Nairobi campus at the Kenya Methodist University (KeMU). According to Vincent Kaabunga, the IEEE Kenya Section Chairman, IEEE is further supporting efforts to set up pilot Education Advisory boards in universities for Engineering and Computing Technologies (ECT) that will provide a mechanism for industry to provide feedback to universities on the quality and content of their programs and graduates. “We are also supporting Information Security East Africa, a high level expert’s meet to review of the state of information security in East Africa,” he added.

Innovative Energy Saving Equipment Courtesy of : Sakura Corporations

av i n g e l e c t r i c i t y b e c o m e s a n increasingly important issue the more the cost of power increases. The production, distribution, use and end-of-life management of energy-related products is associated with important impacts on the environment, such as the consequences of energy and other materials/resources consumption, waste generation and release of hazardous substances. Energy efficient light bulbs - can save you money and help protect the environment. Encouraging their use will also greatly reduce Kenya’s peak demand by lowering the energy consumption due to household lighting during the evening hours. A number of energy saving and environmental friendly equipments are available in the Kenyan market. A few are sampled below; With a light output of 800 lumen, Energy Saver Compact Fluorescent bulbs provide soft, energy saving light, long life and reduced operating costs. From table lamps

and recessed light to decorative fixtures, compact fluorescents are available in the shapes and sizes that users are accustomed to. This bulbs last for eleven years (at 2.7 hours per day) and can save up to Ksh 2,500 in energy costs over the life of the bulb. LED Rechargeable Light – This is an Ecofriendly LED bulb that consumes less power and will stay illuminated for hours even without direct power from electricity by utilizing the built-in lithium battery. It has a life expectancy of 20,000 hours. With the inbuilt rechargeable lithium battery, the device can give light for about 3 hours during power blackout. It comes with a remote switch that can regulate the amount of light and turn the device on or off. It uses LED bulbs with power consumption of 4 watts. Motion Sensor LED Tubes - They have an inbuilt rechargeable lithium battery. The sensor detects human presence to automatically switch the lamp on when

47 KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013

there is someone in the room and off when the room is vacated. The battery stores electric power and can be used to light the lamp for more than two hours without external power source. These tubes can save up to 60% electricity compared to normal fluorescent tubes. They have a lifetime of between 30,000 – 50,000 hours compared to normal tubes that last for 6,000 hours. They have a delay time of 40 seconds and a beam angle of 1200.

IEK IEK COUNCIL

MEMBERS OF IEK COMMITTEES

NAME POSITION J Riungu Chairperson R K Kosgei 1st vice Chair M E Okonji 2nd vice Chair M Shiribwa Hon Secretary R K Chepkwony Hon Treasurer D M W Maina Retiring Past Chairperson W R O OGW Member C A Ogut Member H S Amaje Member R Kungu Member C G Juma Member G L Apiyo Member E Mwangi Co-opted

FUNCTIONS & CONFERENCE COMMITTEE J M Riungu Chairman D M W Maina Chairperson C Juma Vice Chair E K Mwongera (CBS) Member H Amaje Member J Mutulili Member E Mwangi Member G L A Onyango Member J Riungu Member R Kosgei Member M Okonji Member R K Chepkwony Member

J Mutulili Co-opted

MEMBERS OF IEK COMMITTEES MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE M E Okonji Chairperson O Nyaguti Member R Kungu Member S Charagu Member W Okubo Member

Solar Desk Light - This is a lighting device combining LED and a rechargeable battery pack into one compact device suitable for domestic use. The design is very different from conventional shape of solar lamp to make it compatible with any interior setting. The devise can be recharged via USB port both from the PC and mains electricity. Detachable battery pack embedded with a solar plate to allow convenience when charging without necessary exposing the whole product on the sun. It has a hand-cranked dynamo to provide alternative charging when there is no solar energy. The battery has charging output for mobile phone making it multipurpose. The Led has a lifetime of about 3 years while the panel can be used for over 10 years.

Make the switch today and cut down your energy costs!!

TRAINING & CAPACITY BUILDING J M Riungu Chairman J Riungu Chairperson C Ogut Vice Chair P O Okaka Member S Ouna Member G Njorohio Member DISCIPLINARY & DISPUTE RESOLUTION W R Okubo Chairperson E K Mwongera (CBS) Member C. M Ndonga Member F W Ngokonyo Member A Rogo Member WELFARE & DEVELOPMENT R K Kosgei Chairperson A Kosgei Member J Riungu Member D M W Maina Member R Chepkwony Member WOMEN ENGINEERS CHAPTER R W Kungu Chairperson J Mutulili Member G L A Onyango Member C A Ogut Member E C Ruto Member YOUNG ENGINEERS CHAPTER C Juma Chairperson G L A Onyango Chairperson ADVOCACY AND PUBLICITY E Mwangi Chairperson J Mutulili Vice Chair M Kashorda Member F W Ngokonyo Member N O Booker Member J N Kariuki Member E Mwangi Member S M Ngare Member Allan Muhalia Member A W Otsieno Member S K Kibe Member M Majiwa Member INDUSTRIALIZATION AND DEVELOPMENT H S Amaje Chairperson K W Makudiuh Member O Jura Member B Wamaya Member G L A Onyango Member

KENYA ENGINEER - November/December 2013