NAIROBI, Friday, June 3, 2016 -- Yesterday, the Kipeto Wind Park, a project supported by U.S. President Barack Obama’s Power Africa initiative, signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with Kenya Power to provide clean, sustainable energy to the people of Kenya. The 100-megawatt (MW), grid-connected power facility -- which will be constructed in Kajiado County with land leased from the Maasai community -- will be one of the first utility-scale wind projects to generate electricity in Kenya.

“This project will provide cleaner and more reliable energy to Kenya’s national grid, helping to boost economic growth. It also demonstrates Kenya’s commitment to sustainable energy development and its leadership on climate change.”
-- U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Robert F. Godec

The Kipeto project supports the Government of Kenya’s Vision 2030 goal to add generating capacity to the electrical grid and ensure universal household access to electricity by 2020. It is being developed through public-private partnerships and the support of Power Africa. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. government’s development finance institution, will provide a $233 million loan.

Equity financing will be provided by three development partners: Power Africa partners African Infrastructure Investment Managers and the International Finance Corporation through its IFC Infraventures business, along with Kenyan independent power project developer Craftskills Wind Energy International, Ltd.

In addition to U.S. financing, Kenya is receiving technical assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to update its electricity codes and procedures to manage its renewable energy resources through the Power Africa Grid Management Support Program. Private sector partner China Machinery Engineering Corporation will serve as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, and Power Africa partner General Electric (GE) will supply 60 GE wind turbines and service the plant over a 15-year period.

This partnership demonstrates both the public and private sectors’ continuing roles in bringing efficient energy generation capacity to Kenya. Public-private partnerships are central to the Power Africa initiative, which seeks to increase the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa.

Learn more about Power Africa at https://www.usaid.gov/powerafrica, and OPIC-supported Power Africa projects at https://www.opic.gov/opic-action/power-africa.