Kenya’s largest solar power plant is set to add 55MW of power to the country’s national grid, according to ESI Africa. The solar farm will sit on 85-hectare parcel of land, 20km away from Garissa town in northern Kenya. It will have 200,200 solar panels and is expected to be the largest in East and Central Africa.
Furthermore, Kenya’s Rural Electrification Authority (REA) has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power to sell electricity at $0.12 per kilowatt hour (kWh), Daily Nation reported.
REA’s Chairman, Simon Gicharu, stated: “construction will start anytime from now after we signed a 25-year PPA with Kenya Power.” His comments came during a meeting in Nairobi with Chinese officials as China’s Jiangxi is the project’s contractor, using a $135.7m loan from China’s Exim Bank.
Kenya’s total power capacity stands at 2,333MW, with solar power accounting for less than 1%. The country relies on a mix of hydropower, geothermal, and thermal facilities.
