Wind farm opens Spanish eyes to Kenya's potential

Kenya Wind Power

KenGen, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company, last week invited tenders for the construction of a 100MW wind farm after the utility was awarded a 20 million euro concessional loan from the Spanish government to help finance the project.

KenGen currently generates around 77 percent of Kenya's electricity but has delegated the responsibility of finding a contractor for the wind farm by the Kenyan energy firm.

An advertisement, published in the local Daily Nation stated, "KenGen invites sealed tenders from eligible candidates for the design, manufacture, supply, delivery, erection, testing and commission of the Ngong II wind power project."

Financing clean energy projects

The advert also hinted heavily that a Spanish company would be coveted saying, "Bidding is open to all firms from the Kingdom of Spain being the eligible source country."

There is no guarantee that a Spanish company will be chosen but the latest announcement does highlight the recent interest Western governments have in financing clean energy projects in emerging markets as they try to boost exports.

Currently the world's fourth largest producer of wind power, behind the United States, Germany and China, Spain looks set to hit their target of generating 30 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2010.

Kenya is a highly attractive prospect

Kenya is proving a highly attractive prospect for many high-profile Spanish utilities. Those currently said to be interested include Iberdola, which produces 27 percent of Spain's wind power; Acciona, which holds 16 percent of the Spanish wind energy market and already has operations in Morocco; and wind turbine manufacturer Gamesa Eólica, as told by BusinessGreen.com.

The Ngong II project is the second phase of an all together larger project that has already seen 5.1MW of energy linked to the Kenyan national power grid from a wind farm financed by the Belgian government.

Kenya is such an attractive prospect for foreign energy investors because its power demand is among the highest in Africa and is increasing at a rate of eight percent a year, remaining the forefront of the continents afforts to curb carbon emissions.

The video below was released in July last year by NTVKenya after concerns were raised over falling water levels as a result of prolonged draught, and the effect this has on hydroelectric power generation. In response KenGen announced plans to produce about 800 MW from wind turbines, to help cut down in over reliance on hydro-generation.

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