Kenya government signs guarantees to support wind energy project

Kenyan government officials on Thursday signed letters of intent to support a wind power project, a key guarantee required by private investors willing to construct a US$805 million plant in Turkana, northern Kenya.
Willem Dolleman of Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) signed the Letter of Support alongside the Government of Kenya, represented by Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua and his Energy counterpart Patrick Nyoike, to guarantee funding for the project, according to an official statement issued in Nairobi on behalf of the investors.

The government’s signature of the letter of support has been a key requirement for the financiers willing to invest in the project, seen as the first major international investment of its kind in green energy.

Kenya Power and Lighting company CEO Joseph Njoroge, also took part at the signing. The key power utility firms pledge support to the project.

This will enable the project to enter the final phase of financing.

The guarantee the investors want is an assurance that the government will purchase power from the plant for at least 30 years.

The wind project, which will be the largest single private investment in Kenya