The US$300 million Kipeto wind farm, located approximately 50km south of Nairobi in Kipeto, Kenya, has successfully reached financial close. Mott MacDonald is lender’s technical advisor to the Overseas Private Investment Corporation on the scheme.
Consisting of 60 General Electric 1.7-103 wind turbine generators, the 102MW wind farm will provide clean energy to the Kenyan national electricity grid. It is anticipated that the project will generate 9000GWh of clean energy over its 20 year operational lifetime, the equivalent of removing 2,700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere.
Mott MacDonald’s due diligence during the scheme’s financing stage included reviewing the project’s design, contracts, environmental and social outputs, financial model, construction and operation arrangements and energy yield. The consultancy will now provide technical, environmental and social construction monitoring services in an ongoing role, as well as checking compliance with the engineering, procurement and management contract, applicable codes, standards and legislation and the loan agreement.
Matthias Vinard, Mott MacDonald’s project principal, said: “Due to supply shortfalls over recent years, Kenya’s power grid has relied on fossil fuel sources such as heavy fuel oil-burning power stations to expand capacity in the short term, however, a thriving wind power industry is beginning to emerge. Wind power, combined with solar, geothermal and hydro sources, will offset the need for fossil fuel-derived energy as Kenya’s economy and demand for electricity continues to grow.”
It is anticipated that the Kipeto wind farm will enter commercial operation in 2020.