Green power leader Kenya is planning to develop a gigawatt-scale wind farm that would be the largest in Africa.
The country’s state-run Kenya Electricity Generating Co confirmed to Bloomberg last week that it is seeking debt financing to cover 75% of the project costs.
It did not confirm what those costs would be and said that estimates would be available once it has the necessary approvals and “confirms the capacity for each phase.”
The project will reportedly be based near the 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project – currently the largest wind farm in Africa – in remote northern Kenya.
It is expected to connect to the Kenyan grid in 2028.
The French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement) separately confirmed to Bloomberg that it is “taking a close interest” in the project.
If realised, the project would further bolster Kenya’s reputation as a green power leader globally. Around 92% of its electricity supply, and 74% of its overall energy use, is powered by renewables.
While this would be the largest wind farm in Africa if it went online today, it could well be topped by several far larger Egyptian projects by the time it reaches fruition.
The Egyptian government in August designated land for a 3GW onshore wind project that will be delivered by an international consortium featuring French multinational Engie.
UAE green energy developer Masdar and partners have meanwhile cemented plans for a behemoth 10GW onshore wind farm in Egypt that would be one of the biggest in the world.
Masdar chair Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and holds the presidency for the upcoming COP28 in the country,recently announced his country is pledging $4.5bn of investment into Africa to help it “jumpstart” renewable energy development and add 15GW of clean power by 2030.
