Kanya’s Homa Bay county to build 50-MW solar plant - report

Sep 30, 2013 - The government of western Kenya’s Homa Bay county has sealed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a tie-up of Canadian firms for the construction of a 50-MW solar park, daily The People said Friday.

The contract, valued at KES 12.6 billion (USD 146m/EUR 108m), was signed with the Lakeside Solar consortium, which includes Canadian exporters and engineers among which are Africa Energy Development Corp, Eaton Cooper Solar Canada and solar module maker Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ).

The 50-MW solar farm will be constructed within the following year, improving the power supply and bringing revenue for Homa Bay county, the newspaper cited Governor Cyprian Awiti as saying. The facility will be situated on land provided by the county. When up and running, it will sell its output to utility Kenya Power at a minimum step tariff of USD 0.16 (USD 0.12) per kWh for the first 10 years of operation, which will rise to USD 0.80 per kWh during the next 10 years. The lifespan of the plant is expected to be 25 to 35 years, with the investment seen to be returned in 12 years, Lakeside solar official Zohrab Mawani said.

(KES 100 = USD 1.157/EUR 0.858)

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.741)

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