OPED: Kenyan e-bikes could charge for free overnight

From the newsletter

A senior executive at Roam, the Kenyan maker of electric motorbikes, is suggesting that spare overnight grid capacity is so substantial in Kenya that 2.2 million e-bikes could be charged for free. Hans van Toor, responsible for strategy and innovation at Roam, has made extensive calculations to argue his point.

• Mr Toor writes, "100% of all motorcycles on the road in Kenya today could charge overnight with excess capacity! While I understand transmission here may be an issue I am happy to hear how I am wrong here."

• One challenge is where power would be consumed. If at home, how can a power company distinguish between regular and EV tariffs? If not at home, at what charging stations would 2.2 million bikes park or their batteries charge every night?

OUTSIDE CONTENT WRITTEN BY HANS VAN TOOR

2.187.500 electric motorcycles could charge every night in Kenya "for free"

Mind-boggling

Kenya's energy production largely comes from renewable sources

With >90% of energy in Kenya from renewable sources and a low carbon footprint per kWh at
~0.2 kg CO2eq / kWh (Kenya) vs ~0.9 kg CO2eq / kWh (South Africa)

Installed capacity: 3,321 MW (as per 2023)
Peak demand: 2,228 MW (June 2024)

Hydro (28%) and geothermal (39%) run through the night

But base load demand drops to ~900 MW at night

Let's assume there is 700 MW not utilized at night

Now we don't register motorcycles in Kenya today,
but there are approx 2.1M motorcycles in Kenya

So 2.1M electric motorcycles or approximately 100% of all motorcycles on the road in Kenya today could charge overnight with excess capacity! While I understand transmission here may be an issue I am happy to hear how I am wrong here.

Kenya Power is >1B USD in debt and Kenya imports $500M of fuel every month

If Kenya Power could charge for the 700 MW at a USD 0.09 / kWh (12 KES)

An electric motorcycles riding 120 km takes
4.5 kWh @ $0.42 or 4 liters of fuel at $5.6 USD

This saves every boda rider a whopping 92.5% and generate 650.000 USD per night for Kenya Power.

I met Japhet today.

Japhet charges at home (no charging infrastructure needed) and rides for Greenspoon, happy as on his Roam bike and paid (off) through M-KOPA

Japhet: "Hard work pays off"

Couldn’t agree more.