France finances 42.5 MW power plant in Kenya

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From pv magazine France

The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) will add 42.5 MW of solar power in the Mbeere South constituency, about 100 kilometers northeast of the capital Nairobi.

The new solar project has secured confidential financing from the French Development Agency (AFD) and is expected to be completed over the next 28 months. The Seven Forks solar power plant will be deployed at the Seven Forks dams, where the state-owned electricity company already has 600 MW of hydropower capacity through its Masinga, Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma and Kiambere facilities.

“The additional capacity will not only increase renewable energy but also protect Kenyans from rising electricity costs as it will supplement hydropower generation during the day and save water for power generation at night, especially during droughts,” KenGen said in a statement.

The Kenyan power utility is committed to meeting the country’s goal of increasing its renewable energy capacity to 100% by 2030. Today, KenGen claims to have 1,725 ​​MW of installed generation capacity, of which over 86% comes from green sources, including hydropower (826 MW), geothermal (753.8 MW) and wind (25.5 MW). The remainder of its capacity stems from thermal energy. As of the end of 2022, Kenya’s total installed solar capacity stood at 307 MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

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