British\ncompanies have emerged the largest shareholders of Kenya\u2019s biggest wind farms, accelerating\nthe East African economy\u2019s march towards green energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
British firm\nAldwych International is the single largest investor in the 310-megawatt (MW)\nLake Turkana wind power project with a 30.7 percent stake. The $700 million (Sh70\nbillion) wind farm, which has been operational September 2018 is the largest in\nAfrica. It\u2019s enough to power up to one million Kenyan households.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Equally, UK\nprivate equity Actis holds 88 percent shareholding in the 100MW Kipeto wind\npower plant in Kajiado whose construction is expected to be completed later\nthis year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two wind\nfarms are currently the largest in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This makes the\nUK firms the biggest drivers of mega wind projects in Kenya as the country\nengages the high gear towards renewables while cutting back on expensive and\ndirty diesel generators. Kenya\u2019s generation mix is currently 93 percent green,\ncomprising a basket of geothermal, hydropower, wind and solar. The country is\nracing to hit the 100 percent sweet spot over the next few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kenya\u2019s State-owned\npower producer KenGen owns and operates a much smaller wind farm (25.5MW Ngong\nwind plant) and is looking to build its proposed 80MW Meru wind farm in the\nnear term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The green\ninvestments in Kenya have positioned the UK companies for a tidy earnings\nbonanza. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 310MW\nLake Turkana wind farm in northern Kenya has 365 wind turbines, spread out over\n40,000 acres of land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides UK\nfirm Alydwych, the largest shareholder with a 30.7 percent stake, other\ninvestors in the Turkana wind farm include KP&P Africa, comprising a team\nof Dutch individual investors, with a 25.25 percent stake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Others are\nDanish turbines maker Vestas (12.5 percent), Danish Climate Fund (Investment\nFund for Developing Countries), KLP Norfund Investments AS of Denmark and\nFinnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
American\ntechnology giant Google has expressed interest to buy out Vestas\u2019 shareholding\nat an estimated cost of $40 million (Sh4 billion).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the other\nhand, the 100MW Kipeto wind farm in Kajiado is jointly owned by British firm\nActis (88 percent) and Kenyan company Craftskills Wind Energy International\nwith a 12 percent equity stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actis bought\nout the project\u2019s shareholding in 2018 from World Bank\u2019s International Finance\nCorporation (IFC) alongside African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Kenya has\nmapped out the best locations to set up wind turbines for optimal power\nharvesting, with Marsabit, where Turkana wind farm sits, leading the pack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other best\nlocations for wind parks in Kenya, based on wind speeds and topography, are\nSamburu, Laikipia, Meru, Nyeri, Nyandarua and Kajiado, according to studies by\nthe Energy ministry. Onshore wind turbines work well on raised grounds\nreceiving steady, high wind speeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOn average\nthe country has an area of close to 90,000 square kilometres with very\nexcellent wind speeds of 6m\/s (metres per second) and above,\u201d the ministry says\nin a recent report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A wind energy\ndata analysis conducted by WinDForce Management Services Ltd indicated that Kenya\nhas a potential to generate a total of 4,600 MW from wind energy, or double the\ncountry\u2019s current total installed capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other potential sites with high wind power yields include Lamu, off shore Malindi, Loitokitok at the foot of Kilimanjaro and Narok plateau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n