Kenya receives $30 million funding towards two projects in Menengai

Reported just before the weekend in local media and in a press release, Kenya has – with support by the African Development Bank (AfDB) received approval from the Climate Investment Funds Clean Technology Fund (CIF-CTF) for a US $29.65-million concessional loan to co-finance up to two geothermal projects of combined up to 70 MW in capacity in Menengai.

The Concessional Finance Program for Geothermal Generation will build on the energy advancements already underway in the successful development of the country's showcase Menengai Geothermal Field.

The CTF funds will create a concessional lending program designed to ensure the projects financial viability and commercial bankability by shoring up conventional financing and breaking down barriers to private investment. The program will support up to two geothermal generation projects structured as Independent Power Producers (IPPs), and will be implemented with AfDB support.

Kenya is already demonstrating its ability to reshape its energy future by developing its vast geothermal resources through Menengai,said Joao Duarte Cunha, AfDB's Coordinator for CTF. But it still faces market barriers to full deployment of its renewables. This infusion of capital will thus serve to build investor confidence and improve bankability of these vital resources. Furthermore, the success of the IPPs developed in this program can serve as a beacon for other countries looking to achieve similar green energy goals.

The program is part of the CTF's Dedicated Private Sector Program (DPSP), designed to finance programs that can deliver development results, impact, private sector leverage and investment at scale and can be deployed rapidly and efficiently.

The country's CTF DPSPII program will complement its CIF Investment Plan already in place under the CIFs Program to Scale Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries (SREP), through which Kenya has undertaken its game-changing Menengai Geothermal Program, a showcase of the CIFs worldwide mitigation activities.