Tag: Kenya

<strong>BlackRock’s CFP fund acquires stake in 310 MW wind farm in Kenya</strong>

BlackRock’s CFP fund acquires stake in 310 MW wind farm in Kenya

March 17, 2023 |

Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), a BlackRock Alternatives-managed fund, has acquired a 31.25 per cent stake in Lake Turkana Wind Power, a 310 MW wind project in Kenya. For an undisclosed sum, the stake was bought from Vestas, Finnfund, and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries. According to a regulatory filing published in Kenyan press, the Lake Turkana Wind Power project is located in Kenya’s far north region and is equipped with 365 wind turbines.

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Combining crops and solar panels is allowing Kenya to ‘harvest the sun twice’

Combining crops and solar panels is allowing Kenya to ‘harvest the sun twice’

March 19, 2022 |

In a region where energy security poses real challenges, but sunlight is not in short supply, solar electricity seems an obvious solution for much of Africa. But the answer isn’t as simple as that. Installing vast arrays of photovoltaic (PV) panels often means clearing swathes of land to bare soil. And there is often competition for land, which is also needed for food production. But a new trial planting crops beneath the panels has shown some promising results in Eastern Africa.

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Blueprints for Climate Finance in Kenya

Blueprints for Climate Finance in Kenya

March 4, 2022 | ,

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenya has embarked on a low carbon, resilient recovery plan. A study from GNIplus that tracked climate finance flows in Kenya revealed that only one third of needed annual climate finance flowed to climate-related investments in 2018. Of that, 80% of the climate finance tracked flowed mostly to mitigation sectors such as energy. 

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Kenya’s New Energy Auction System To Favour Wind And Solar Investments Ahead Of Geothermal

Kenya’s New Energy Auction System To Favour Wind And Solar Investments Ahead Of Geothermal

January 16, 2022 |

There are strong upside risks for growth in solar and wind power capacity in place of geothermal power in Kenya following the introduction of an auction-based mechanism for new power projects. Given the relatively lower costs associated with solar and wind power projects, we expect that this will make them ideally suited for the government’s plans to develop new power capacity along with its plan to provide universal electricity access to its population.

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Kenya’s 300 MW wind farm gets green lit

Kenya’s 300 MW wind farm gets green lit

November 25, 2021 |

Gitson Energy, the Kenyan diaspora-owned company is getting a favourable ruling after five years of legal proceedings over the construction of a 300 MW wind farm in Bubisa, a community in Marsabit County. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) and the Ministry of Energy must now put the 300 MW wind farm on its list of approved power projects.

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An Emerging Market: Opportunities and Challenges in Africa’s Solar Segment

An Emerging Market: Opportunities and Challenges in Africa’s Solar Segment

March 27, 2021 |

Africa has seen increasing uptake of solar, especially in the northern part of the continent. In fact, solar power is becoming a popular alternative to fossil fuel-based energy generation and it is supplementing hydropower in countries where water resources are scarce. It is gaining traction across the utility scale, commercial and industrial as well as micro- and mini-grid segments.

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Challenges hinder Kenya’s prospects for becoming a preferred solar destination

Challenges hinder Kenya’s prospects for becoming a preferred solar destination

March 4, 2021 |

Kenya’s geographical location astride the equator gives it a unique opportunity for a vibrant solar energy market where solar power can be harnessed for generating electricity, lighting, heating and drying. However, the percentage of solar energy harnessed presently is insignificant relative to the potential. Kenya has just 53 MW of contracted solar power capacity which is less than 2% of the total contracted demand of 2,668 MW.

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Kenya floats tender to develop upto 10 MW of captive solar projects

Kenya floats tender to develop upto 10 MW of captive solar projects

February 3, 2021 |

The Kenya Power and Lighting Company have issued an expression of interest from companies to finance, develop, and operate captive solar projects. These solar projects can range between 500kW and 10MW on a lease basis for its commercial and industrial (C&I) consumers. Shortlisted bidders will be issued a detailed Request of Proposal by Kenya Power, which would be selected on the basis of their technical and financial capabilities.Selected bidders also have to operate the project for 20 years. February 10, 2021, is the last date for submission of bids

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Clir Renewables to enhance performance of Africa’s largest wind farm

Clir Renewables to enhance performance of Africa’s largest wind farm

January 21, 2021 |

Clir Renewables has been selected to enhance the performance of Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Farm. The company will analyse data from each of the wind farm’s 365 turbines using parameters of available resource, geospatial features, and nearby turbines. Further, machine learning data analytics will be used to pick out instances of underperformance and their underlying causes.

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Geothermal development in Eastern Africa

Geothermal development in Eastern Africa

November 24, 2020 |

The total installed electricity capacity from all energy sources in the East African Rift countries is about 20 GWe. The contribution of geothermal energy to this is about 900 MWe, with all the existing installed geothermal power plants located in Kenya and Ethiopia.

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UNHCR calls for tenders for 10 solar hybrid systems in three African countries

UNHCR calls for tenders for 10 solar hybrid systems in three African countries

November 13, 2020 |

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) Green Fund has launched a call for tenders for the installation of 10 solar photovoltaic systems for its operations in three East African countries, namely Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. This project will result in solar power plants with capacities ranging from 60 kWp to 500 kWp, with a cumulative capacity of 1.8 MWp at all 10 sites.

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The changing energy dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa points towards an emerging renewable opportunity

The changing energy dynamics in Sub-Saharan Africa points towards an emerging renewable opportunity

May 7, 2020 |

Sub-Saharan Africa is an emerging market that is fast moving towards solar and wind power generation with the potential for battery backup systems. Although in its early stages at present, solar energy is gaining traction on the back of falling costs and greater availability, and is expected to become a major source of additional energy generation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

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