Kenya Plans to produce 3,000 megawatts of cleaner electricity by 2018

www.bloomberg.com
Sep 8, 2010

Kenya, east Africa's biggest economy, plans to produce 3,000MWs of electricity from green sources over the next eight years, according to a statement in the Nairobi-based Daily Nation newspaper. Most of the electricity will be generated from geothermal and wind projects. Edward Njoroge, Managing Director of Kenya Electricity Generating Co., the nation's biggest electricity producer, said today in the statement. KenGen, as it is known, will inaugurate a 5.1MW wind power project in Ngong, 18 kilometers (11 miles) north of the capital Nairobi. Njoroge said, "We embarked on this project in 2007 after the signing of a commercial agreement between KenGen and TPF-Econoler SA of Belgium for a grid connected wind farm", he said.

In July 2009 KenGen said construction of the first phase, with a capacity of 5.1MWs powered by six turbines, was financed with a 10 million-euro loan from Belgium. KenGen plans to increase its wind power capacity in Ngong to 25.5MWs by the end of 2012, he said. Sourcing of companies to be awarded two separate contracts of 6.8MWs and 13.6MWs is underway, he added. The 6.8MWs project will be funded using a loan from Belgium while the 13.6MWs project will be financed through a 20 million-euro loan from Spain, Njoroge said.