The Kinangop Wind Park is a 60.8 MW Kenyan wind power project, which was canceled due to opposition from local landowners and farmers. It was originally scheduled to become fully operational in Nyandarua county by mid-2015. But unfortunately, the progress of the wind project was hindered by disputes with the residents over land.
The construction costs for the Kinangop Wind Park project were estimated at $144 million. The project was financed by AIIF2, a joint venture between the Macquarie Group and the Old Mutual Investment Group. But the developers eventually ran out of funds due to the delays in material supply. The locals protested and made it difficult for workers to access the site or build the wind farm.
Reported earlier
Jan 2014
General Electric wins turbines supply contract
General Electric will supply turbines to sub-Saharan Africa’s largest wind power generation project outside South Africa. The 60.8 MW Kinangop Wind Park in Kenya which is set to come online in mid-2015 is one of several wind and geothermal projects in Kenya aimed at meeting the growing demand for electricity.
GE will provide 38 turbines, each with a 1.6 MW capacity, to be constructed by Iberdrola Engineering. The US Company, which joins Danish wind firm Vestas in supplying Kenyan wind farms, did not specify the value of the contract.
Nov 2014
US$145m wind power farm project in Nyandarua-Kenya receives green light
The US$145m wind power project in Nyandarua County has received a green light from the political class and area residents to have it go ahead. The project is expected to add 61MW of electricity to the national grid.
Funded by various foreign investors, the project is being undertaken by Kinangop Wind Park Ltd which is a Kenyan energy company. It had initially stalled as investors, politicians, and land owners had disagreed on its continuation. In a meeting held by stakeholders, it was concluded that investors’ leasehold of the affected land is reduced from 60 years to 25 years.
Kinangop Wind Park is the first independent large-scale wind power farm in East Africa and a landmark transaction for both the African power sector and the wind power project finance market. Kinangop Wind Park Ltd has appointed Aurecon South Africa Pty Ltd as the owner’s engineer for the project, which is majority owned by African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM). General Electric will provide 38 wind turbines for the project.
Locals have demanded 100% of all unskilled labor and 70% of the skilled workforce in the new deal that is yet to be signed. Apart from the job opportunities to come by with the new wind power project, the economy of this region will also be elevated, and more power will be added to the national grid.
