Kinangop Wind Park
| Kinangop Wind Park Project | |
|---|---|
  Location of Kinangop Wind Park in Kenya | |
| Location | Nyandarua County, Kenya |
| Coordinates | 0°49′41.22″S 36°33′19.27″E / 0.8281167°S 36.5553528°ECoordinates: 0°49′41.22″S 36°33′19.27″E / 0.8281167°S 36.5553528°E |
| Status | Stalled |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 38 |
| Nameplate capacity | 60.8 MW |
The Kinangop Wind Park (KWP) was a planned wind power project in Nyandarua County, Kenya.[1] The KWP was a greenfield wind farm that would have the capacity to supply 60.8 MW of electricity to the national grid via KPLC.
Project location
The project was to be located in the central Kenyan Highlands situated on the Kinangop Plateau, at an altitude of approximately 2,600 m above sea level, in Karati, Magumu and Heni Sub-locations of Nyandarua County.[1]
History
The Kinangop Wind Park was launched in 2004 a joint venture between EcoGen Wind Farms and Kengen. In January 2008, Aeolus Kenya acquired the rights to develop the project.[1] The project consisted of setting up 38 GE Energy wind turbines that were designed to have a lifetime of 20 years.[2] The operation and maintenance of the entire project was to be outsourced from General Electric (GE) of US under the Full Service Agreement.[1]
In November 2013, The African Infrastructure Investment Fund 2 (“AIIF2”) and Norfund took over the ownership of KWP leaving Aeolus Kenya as the project development company.[3]
Funding
The KWP was valued at USD 150 million[4] with 50% of this in equity and the rest in debt.[1]
As of December 2015, the shareholding in KWP was as follows:[5]
| Rank | Name of Owner | Percentage Ownership |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | African Infrastructure Investment Fund II | 81.00 |
| 2 | Norfund | 19.00 |
| Total | 100.00 |
- African Infrastructure Investment Fund II is a USD547 million fund with Old Mutual as a major contributor.[6]
Project impact
The KWP was expected to be completed in mid 2015 and would have capacity to serve over 150,000 households.[4] In addition to power generation, the project would have also reduced 847,252 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the environment during its first seven years.[1]
Challenges
Due to land disputes in the area of the project that led to depletion of funds as a result delays, court cases and hostilities from the community,[7] the investors in the project decided to ditch the project in February 2016.[8]
See also
- Clean Development Mechanism
- Wind power in Kenya
- List of power stations in Kenya
- Energy in Kenya
- Lake Turkana Wind Power Station
- Ngong Hills Wind Farm
- UNFCCC
- Variability issues in wind power
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "PROJECT DESIGN DOCUMENT FORM (CDM PDD) - Version 03 - Kinangop Wind Park Project" (PDF). United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2012-01-11. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "KINANGOP WIND PARK". AIIM. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "Kinangop Wind Park project reaches financial close". 29 November 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- 1 2 "Kinangop Wind Park". Norfund. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "AFRICAN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT FUND 2 (AIIF2)". AIIM. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ "African Infrastructure Investment Fund 2 (AIIF2)". Old Mutual. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ HERBLING, David (September 16, 2015). "Sh15bn Kinangop wind park halted as land protests swirl". Business Daily Africa. Nation Media Group. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
- ↑ GACHIRI, John (February 23, 2016). "Firm pulls the plug on Sh15bn Kinangop wind farm project". Business Daily Africa. Nation Media Group. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
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