News

Kenya to facilite investments in renewables through fund supported by the World Bank

Alexander Richter 2 Jul 2009

The Kenyan Government will facilitate investments in the generation of 2,000 MW of electric power from clean sources in the next three years. This is planned with a Green Fund supported by the World Bank and private players with up to US$ 2 billion of investments.

Reported from Africa, “The (Kenyan) Government will facilitate investments in the generation of 2,000 MW of electric power from clean sources in the next three years.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga said the Green Energy Development Campaign is intended to address the energy crisis and provide adequate electricity supply at affordable costs.

“We are facing an energy crisis that will require us to come up with radical solutions,” he said during the inaugural meeting of the National Task Force on Accelerated Development of Green Energy.The investments would be in geothermal, wind, cogeneration, clean coal, solar, biogas and solid waste.

The Government will offer attractive financing, strong fiscal incentives and equity investment to private sector companies willing to put up generation plants.

Green Fund:Treasury plans to set up a US$2 billion Kenya Green Energy Fund with the help of the World Bank and other donors by Mach next year to enable the Government finance equity or loan contributions to large scale energy projects.

A Green Energy Loan Facility will be set up to offer long-term interest free loans to Kenyan firms investing in the campaign. Treasury expects the facility to be operational next month with an initial funding of US$250 million. Seven companies have presented project proposals with a total of 770 MW. The campaign involves free distribution of one million free energy saving bulbs to save 49 MW of power consumption.”

Source: East Africa Standard