Wind farm. Author: Maret Hosemann. License: Creative Commons. Attribution 2.0 Generic July 7 (Renewables Now) – The 100-MW Kipeto wind farm in Kajiado, Kenya, has reached full commercial operations, developer BTE Renewables announced this week.
BTE Renewables, owned by London-based private equity firm Actis, holds 88% in project company Kipeto Energy Plc, while the remaining 12% are owned by state-owned Kenyan firm Craftskills.
The 60-turbine complex is feeding its output to the national power grid. The generated electricity, enough to cover the demand of around 250,000 homes per year, will be sold under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power and Lighting (KPLC), signed back in 2016.
The Kipeto project achieved financial close at the end of 2018 and soon after that entered construction. GE Renewable Energy supplied its GE 1.7-103 turbines to equip the power plant and China Machinery Engineering Corp served as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.
Senior debt financing for the scheme was extended by the US International Development Finance Corporation.
