Project News
Kilifi’s Biggest-Ever Solar Power Plant Goes Live
The plant has been connected to the national grid.
A 40 MW solar plant that has been under construction in Kilifi County has finally been connected to the national grid, boosting Kenya’s renewable energy capacity.
The Malindi Solar project, which is located in Langobaya, 50km west of Malindi town, went live on Dec 4 and has already sold at least 300 megawatts of electricity to Kenya Power.
The project has been underway since 2019.
It is the brainchild of renewable energy company Malindi Solar Group Limited, a special purpose vehicle company jointly owned by UK power producer Globeleq and Africa Energy Development Corporation (AEDC), a renewable energy producer.
Globeleq, which is jointly owned by British investment firm CDC Group (70%) and Norfund of Norway (30%), holds a 90% stake in the deal, while AEDC holds a 10% stake.
“AEDC is delighted that the Malindi project has reached this milestone and is contributing to Kenya’s supply of green and affordable electricity,” managing director Zohrab Mawani said.
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The plant was built at a cost of $66 million (Sh7.5 billion), with CDC Group and Globeleq contributing $50 million (Sh5.7 billion) and $16 million (Sh1.8 billion), respectively.
157,000 solar panels
The Malindi 40 MW solar PV site is equipped with 157,000 solar panels that can power 250,000 households while reducing emissions by 44,500 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.
The solar plant is connected to the national grid via the 220kV Weru substation.
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The plant’s operator, Malindi Solar Group Limited, is expected to sell electricity to Kenya Power under a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement.
The Malindi Solar project comes at a time when some of Kenya’s largest power consumers are shifting to own-generated solar power to beat the high cost of electricity.
According to Kenya Power, several large customers – who account for about 68% of its sales revenues have shifted to solar, dealing a major blow to its declining incomes.
Interestingly, Kenya Power has also joined the solar movement.
The company recently said it will contract private firms to install solar panels for interested customers under a design-build-finance and operate model.
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