The financial close for a 1.5 MWp solar photovoltaic project at Kiamariga village in Nyeri County, the central region of Kenya has been attained following the release of US$ 355,000 equity investment by the Renewable Energy Performance Platform (REPP), a UK government-funded program dedicated to sponsoring/supporting renewable energy development projects, particularly in the growing economies such as sub-Saharan Africa.
Earlier on, Sunref which is the green finance label of the French Development Agency (AFD) supporting local banks in allocating green credit in favorable conditions i.e (low-interest rates, long tenor, grace period) for tailored made debt, granted US$ 1.8M through the Co-operative Bank of Kenya, to help fund the implementation of the project.
Race to becoming one of the country’s privately owned grid-connected solar power plants
REPP’s grant will enable Astonfield Solar, an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) company that provides captive solar solutions to industrial and corporate clients in Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East, and India, to ramp up the implementation of the project which is expected to become one of the East African country’s privately owned grid-connected solar power plants.
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The developer, Marco Borero Company, has already signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to supply electricity to the state-owned Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) once the plant is operational.
The project is expected to come online by the end of December this year.
Contribution to Kenya’s NDC target
According to REPP, the project other than creating job opportunities in the locality and adding to the national electricity capacity, it is also expected to contribute to Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), that takes a low emission and climate-resilient development pathway, with ambitious mitigation geared towards reducing country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30 % come 2030.
“Furthermore, the project will also contribute to local capacity building with the first promoter, who wants to develop a pipeline of renewable energy projects in the region” stated the Renewable Energy Performance Platform.
