ADF funds first partial risk guarantee for the wind power project in Turkana

Last Updated 12 years ago by Kenya Engineer

The Board of the African Development Bank has commissioned the construction of a wind powered electricity generation plant in Turkana County. This project is set to take place after the project implementer, Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) received a loan of $870million (Sh75.3billion) from investors.

This is a political risk measure that aims at insuring private lenders and investors against the risk of a possible government failure to meet the fulfillment of the project.

The energy/power plant will consist of 300MW wind farm, 365 wind turbines of 850kw capacity each and a 33kv electrical network. This will see the average electricity production rising to 1,440Gwh per year.

The project aims at heightening demand for electricity by connecting to new and existing substations for improved power supply and distribution and other planned geothermal plants will also be evacuated through the transmission line. 

It will also ease the risk of constructing a 428 kilometer publicly owned transmission line along Suswa-Loyangalani transmission line and associated substations needed to connect the project to the national grid.

The core objective of  Lake Turkana Wind Power Project  is to aid in the provision of clean, reliable, low-cost power and strengthen Kenya‘s power installation by approximately 17% in 2016.

PRG will provide partial risk measure to Lake Turkana Wind Power and to the providers of debt financing to the project for risks linked to construction delays by the Government of Kenya.

The core objective of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project  is to aid in the provision of clean, reliable, low-cost power and to reinforce Kenya‘s power installation by approximately 17%.

The power project will have a fibre optic cable that will transfer information and data from one place to another. This will see a drop in cost of energy to consumers, availability of energy in the rural areas, increase in national electrification rate, reduce CO2 emissions and decrease fossil fuel dependency.

Kenya has been known to be relying on traditional methods especially during the drought season but this project will help conserve the environment and sustain a low-cost generation capacity and power.

Acting director of the AFDB’s Energy, Environment and Climate Change Department, Kurt Lonsway said that ADF PRG will encourage foreign direct investment in Kenya and enable private financing for power generation.

This is the largest wind power project in Africa that is set to accelerate private investment in low and middle-income countries and support the strategic objectives of ADF -12 and the Sixth General Capital Increase by complementing existing instruments through syndicate banks that African Development Bank has partnered with.

This project is along AFDB’s Long Term Strategy (2013-2022) which shows that poor access to energy has been a major challenge in achieving a successful economic change in the African continent hence leading to development of sustainable infrastructure.

African Development Bank Group has made PRGs available since 2004 and other East African Countries as well as Southern and West African countries will benefit from PRGs in the near future.