A subsidiary of global giant General Electric is set to start work on a $300-million wind power plant in Kenya in November.
The company has secured $233-million from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (Opic) for the 100 MW Kipeto wind farm, in Kajiado, which will the the second-largest in the country.
The project is being implemented by Kipeto Power, a company that is majority-owned by General Electric. The World Bank’s private-sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, and a community trust are the other shareholders.
“Financial support for Kipeto is a significant step in Opic’s pledge to President Barack Obama’s Power Africa Initiative,” says Opic president and CEO Elizabeth Littlefield.
The to be extended to Kipeto Power is part of the $500-million that the US government has committed to Kenya’s renewable-energy programme in the next five years to lower the cost of power.
To guarantee uptake of the power to be generated, Kipeto Power has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power, the East African nation sole electricity distributor.
The PPA provides Kipeto Power with the certainty needed to advance the project.
“The PPA is an important step forward in enabling the country to meet its development goals by utilising renewable power, which is cost effective and environmentally friendly,” says acting Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum Henry Rotich.
The agreement has a 20-year term from the expected commencement of commercial operation date of 2018.
The Kipeto project will involve the installation of 47 1.6-100 and 16 1.6-82.5 wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 1.62 MW.
It will also involve the building of an on-site substation and a 66 kV line to transmit the electricity to the national grid.
Hydro and geothermal currently account for over 85% of the country’s energy mix, with wind energy's contribution being a negligible 0.4%.
Kipeto plant will be the second largest wind farm after the 300 MW Lake Turkana wind farm project.
Kinangop Wind Park, under construction by Aeolus Kenya, is another projected expected to add 60 MW to the national grid.