Wind Power

Kenya’s second biggest wind farm starts commercial operations

The facility is owned and operated by BTE Renewables (88%), majority-owned by Actis. Photo credit: Kipeto Energy

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The 100 MW Kipeto wind farm has officially achieved commercial operations date as of Monday, July 5th. Majority-owned by Actis (88%) via BTE Renewables, Kipeto Energy is Kenya’s second largest wind energy facility after the Lake Turkana one.

Kipeto Energy was originally conceived by Kenyan company Craftskills Wind Energy International (CWEIL) with support from General Electric. The $320m project received a boost with the entry of African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and IFC InfraVentures in the 2010s. Both entities co-developed the project with Craftskills from 2014 until early 2018, executing a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Kenya Power and Lighting in 2016. Financial close was successfully achieved with the exit of AIIM and IFC InfraVentures in 2018, whose interests in Kipeto Energy were acquired by Actis. The project is now owned and operated by BTE Renewables (88%), majority-owned by Actis with the rest of the equity in Kipeto Energy Plc still held by CWEIL (12%).

Details on the Kipeto Wind Farm are available in the “Projects” section within your Hawilti+ research terminal.

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In Kyé-Ossi, a women-led trade fair encourages regional integration

Authorities in three Central African countries of Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, officially launched the annual CEMAC Cross-Border Fair (FOTRAC) In August with the aim of stimulating economic activities in a region hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Spread over ten days, the fair in the CEMAC zone is organized in the Cameroonian city of Kyé-Ossi, which shares borders with the three countries. The activities of the fair take place under the theme “Relaunching intra-regional trade for peace, the socio-economic and cultural development of Africa despite the Covid-19”. “This is the post-Covid-19 edition of the show. We closed our borders when the pandemic was at its peak and it did affect cross-border trade. We hope that this edition of the fair will significantly revive economic activities now that the borders are open,” Félix Nguelle Nguelle, governor of the southern region of Cameroon hosting the event, told reporters. For the organizer of the event, Danielle Nlate, also president of the Network of Active Women of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (REFAC), the fair will strengthen sub-regional integration within the framework of the free movement of people and property in the area. Note this year the presence of all 11 ECCAS countries, the Economic Community of Central African States: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, DRC, Gabon, Guinea Equatorial, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, and Chad, in addition to Senegal.

Orca Energy to execute $21.4m workover programme in Tanzania

PanAfrican Energy Tanzania, the subsidiary of the Orca Energy Group that operates the wells and gas processing plant at Songo Songo in Tanzania, has signed an agreement with Exalo Drilling for the workover of three onshore wells. Activities are set to start in September 2021 on Songo Songo Island. The 2021 workover programme will notably see the wells recompleted with corrosion resistant chrome tubing while returning two wells to production and ensuring the third well continues to produce safely. Songo Songo is Tanzania’s flagship gas project and currently supplies about 60% of Tanzania’s gas, mostly used for power generation. While PanAfrican Energy operates the wells and the 110 MMscfd gas processing plant, the Songo Songo development remains owned by Songas, itself majority owned by Globeleq. Only gas produced beyond a threshold of 44.8 MMscfd can be freely marketed and sold by PanAfrican Energy. Source: Orca Energy Group The first 45 MMscfd is classified as “Protected Gas” and is owned by the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corp (TPDC) and sold under a 20-year gas agreement expiring on July 31st, 2024. This gas is used by Songas to fuel its 190 MW Ubungo gas-to-power plant but is also used for distribution to the Tanzania Portland Cement Company, and for Tanzania’s village electrification programme. Such distribution is ensured by Songas’ infrastructure which includes the 105 MMscfd, 232km pipeline to Dar es Salam and a 16km spur line to the cement plant. Beyond 44.8MMscfd, the gas is classified as “Additional Gas” and can be freely commercialized by PanAfrican Energy. The company has been steadily increasing its production and sales of Additional Gas to support additional power generation facilities in Dar es Salam, power several industries and develop a growing Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) business.