Google to Acquire Stake In Kenya's Wind Farm

Google to Acquire Stake In Kenya’s Wind Farm

By / Published October 22, 2015 | 7:19 am

Google Inc., a US-based technology company will acquire a stake in Kenya’s wind farm once the facility is completed in 2017.

The company will buy 12.5 percent share of the project from Vestas wind system. This according to a statement made in a blog post. The project will cost $700 million and will have a capacity of 310 Megawatts.

The project is funded by a group of development banks that are lending $555 million collectively, including European Investment Bank, the African Development bank, France’s Proparco, DEF KfW Bankengruppe, FMO of the Netherlands, and the Preferential Trade Area Bank.

The amount of $250 million has also been committed to the project by the U.S government’s development institution and overseas private investment corporation.

This will be Google’s second investment in the continent after the 2013 Jasper power project a 96 megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in the northern cape of South Africa.

Once the project is complete the Lake Turkana wind farm will power about 2 million homes and the project will also contribute about 15 percent of the Kenya’s current grid capacity.

“We are making a commitment to invest in Lake Turkana because it makes financial sense, but also because it has the potential to have a massive impact on Kenya’s grid, helping to spur the deployment of renewable energy in one of the world’s fastest-growing countries,” said John Woolard, Google’s Vice President, Energy.

The project was threatened when the World Bank withdrew its support in 2012, but the African Development Bank stepped in to lead the funding effort.