Google Bows out Of Plans to Buy Kenya’s Turkana Power Project

Google has quit plans to buy Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) after the project experienced a delay in its onset.

The American Tech giants had planned to stake at least 12.5 percent to the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) which was commissioned in July 2019 but has since bowed out following the sluggish completion of a transmission link.

The Lake Turkana wind Power Project was set to be completed in 2017 but was delayed awaiting the completion of the 428-kilometer transmission line to the power grid from Loiyangalani in northern Kenya to Suswa in Narok County.

The 70 billion shillings LTWP project was expected to generate power of 310-megawatts for more than 300,000 local and neighboring homes and areas around the Rift Valley region.

Contractors have blamed the delay on the compensation of the landowners along with the areas where the transmission links would pass and promised that they are sorting out the issues.

According to Vestas, a Denmark based firm, Google had agreed to buy the project but canceled the agreement in 2019 but has not confirmed whether it would re-stake in case the project is completed. Meanwhile, Vestas said it is in talks with other potential investors.

“Due to delays relating primarily to the transmission line, the Vestas agreement with Google was canceled in 2019. As Vestas’ strategy doesn’t include being a long-term wind park owner, we’re currently in commercial dialogues with potential buyers of our shares,” Vestas announced.

LTWP was just but of the many projects that Google has invested in, in the renewable energy sector. Hitherto, Google has committed about 712 billion shillings to 52 renewable energy projects globally.

“In 2017, we became the first company of our size to match our entire annual electricity consumption with renewable energy and then we did it again in 2018, “Google announced in a blog post.

Google boasts to be the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy in the world and being at the forefront in fighting adverse climatic changes by promoting the use of renewable energy other than those that pollute the environment.

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