GE Renewable Energy and GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS) partnered to deliver a 100-megawatt (MW) wind power project in Kenya, according to a press release distributed on behalf of GE on Tuesday.
GE Renewable Energy will provide 60 of its highly efficient GE 1.7-103 turbines for the Kipeto project located in Kajiado County, south of Nairobi, while GE EFS provided advisory support, read the statement issued by APO Group, a leading media relations’ consultancy and press release distribution service in Africa and the Middle East.
Named as GE's flagship onshore wind project in Sub-Saharan Africa, Kipeto will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of 40,000 homes as a significant contribution to Kenya's Vision 2030 and Big Four Agenda, the statement said.
Kenya Vision 2030 was launched in 2008 as the country's development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030. It was aimed at making Kenya a newly industrializing, 'middle income country providing high quality life for all its citizens by the year 2030'.
The Kipeto wind power project, which is expected to reach commercial operation in 2020, reached financial close on Monday. It is funded by equity from Actis and a Kenyan company, Craftskills Wind Energy International, alongside senior debt from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government's development finance institution.
According to the statement, GE EFS provided advisory support, which facilitated OPIC’s financing and will help to enable Kipeto to begin construction of the second largest wind farm in Kenya with GE wind turbines.
Craftskills Wind Energy International originally conceived the Kipeto project, with support from GE, it said. African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and IFC InfraVentures co-developed the project with Craftskills from 2014 until early 2018, executing a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power and Lighting in 2016.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr