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{
    "id": 424000,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/424000/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 64,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Take, for example, wind. We hear of countries that have done very well with wind. We have read about countries like South Africa which have big plants of solar energy. We want to know how far we can go apart from having the few panels we put in our individual houses. We are also lucky that our country has oil, or we hear, since it is not yet out of the ground, courtesy of Sen. Munyes and the people in that area. These people will give people oil but we want to know whether apart from the oil that we use for fuel to what extent we can use oil powered generators. At the moment, the ones we are using are diesel but we have a few which are oil fired. We want to know how we can use oil cheaply compared to either hydro, geothermal or any other source. We also have coal in Ukambani. I think they are arguing about it. We want our Committee on Energy, Roads and Transportation to delve into that so that we know where we are. There is also an issue of nuclear energy. I know that a previous speaker appeared very opposed to it. I am of a different opinion. Before we conclude on whether to do it or not, we should look at what to do and not fall into a mishap. The truth is that if you visit some of these countries – I remember one time when during the Eighth Parliament we visited France - This country has about 60 per cent of its energy coming from nuclear. So, they must have found something good. We must know what the pros and cons are before we discard it. We should know the serious dangers that we cannot cope with which people in Europe are dealing with. One advantage of getting geothermal energy, hydro or oil is that we conserve our environment. At the moment, a lot of energy in our houses is either firewood or even worse, charcoal. The best charcoal seems to be the one that comes from areas which have very few trees. Any effort towards introducing geothermal energy and any other clean energy would go a long way to conserve the environment in this country. The real problem in our country, when it comes to a Report like this, is the link between the Legislature and the Executive. Traditionally or historically, we have had very good Reports done by Committees of Parliament. These are adopted by the House but the implementation which is supposed to be done by the Executive has not been there. This needs to be re-established in the new dispensation so that it works. I have in mind, for example, a Committee of Parliament going out to look at possibilities of where wind energy has been developed, for instance, in a country like The Netherlands which has developed wind energy to a very high level. When the Committee came back, it did a Report that was adopted by the House. However, that is all. Later, whenever the Executive wanted to do something regarding wind energy, they did not look at the Report. I remember that I was part of that Committee that had gone abroad. We came back and later learnt that the research that had been done worldwide cited Kenya among the countries with some wind energy potential. The map that The Netherlands people had of Kenya had identified three spots; one in Turkana, another in the coast and one near Naivasha. When some people came to install some wind turbines in my county of Nyandarua, neither the Senator nor the Governor knew who they were. Nobody knew, at all, who they were. There is a link in what Parliament is doing because it is assumed that perhaps what these people came to do in Nyandarua County had something to do with the Report The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}