By CHARLES MWANIKI
In Summary
- Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is set to issue the licence for the Sh12.7 billion ($150 million) project to be developed jointly by GE and Aeolus Kenya.
- ERC had also issued a licence to Ketraco for construction of power lines to transmit electricity from the project to the national grid.
- GE is likely to contribute a maximum of Sh3.5 billion for financing the project in line with its current policy of contributing between Sh1.7 billion ($20 million) and Sh3.5 billion ($40 million) for power ventures in Kenya.
American conglomerate General Electric is
Wednesday set to get a licence to develop a wind power farm in Kinangop,
paving the way for the start of construction of the 61 mega watts
project.
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is set to
issue the licence for the Sh12.7 billion ($150 million) project to be
developed jointly by GE and Aeolus Kenya.
It is expected to feed power to the national grid in mid 2015.
ERC acting director-general Fredrick Nyang said
that in addition to issuing the power generation licence, the regulator
had also approved the power purchase agreement for the project.
“With the approval of the PPA and the issuance of licence, they are expected to start construction within the next one year.
‘‘The PPA approvals are what they use in finalising their debt and financing arrangements,” said Dr Nyang in an interview.
He said that in addition to licensing the project
developers, ERC had also issued a licence to Ketraco for construction of
power lines to transmit electricity from the project to the national
grid.
The project will be a boost to Kenya’s plans for
tapping renewable energy to raise capacity beyond the current total of
1,500 MW.
Spanish firm Iberdrola Engineering announced last
month that it had signed an agreement worth Sh9.7 billion (€85 million)
for the construction of the Kinangop wind farm.
According to the Iberdrola statement, the project
will be owned by the Macquarie and Old Mutual sponsored African
Infrastructure Investment Fund II and the Norwegian Investment Fund for
Developing Countries (Norfund), with South African Standard Bank acting
as Mandated Lead Arranger for the deal.
“The Iberdrola subsidiary will handle engineering,
procurement, construction and commissioning. The project will have a
total of 38 wind turbines manufactured by General Electric.
‘‘The hubs for each 1.6MW wind turbine will stand
almost 80 metres and have a rotor diameter spanning 82.5 metres,” said
Iberdrola.
The company is also part of a consortium putting up a 13.6MW wind farm for KenGen
in Ngong Hills, and Ketraco’s Nairobi Ring Project which will see an
overhaul of the capital’s power distribution network. Both projects have
a combined value of over Sh7.5 billion.
As the lead financial arranger for the project, Standard Bank Group (and its subsidiary CfC Stanbic Bank) announced on October 3 that it had underwritten a Sh7.65 billion ($90 million) debt deal with Aeolus Kenya.
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