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Globeleq has commissioned its 52MW Malindi Solar PV plant in Kilifi county. The plant was exporting about 40MW into the grid as of 14 December. Globeleq owns the plant along with Africa Energy Development Corporation (AEDC) which has a 10% share.

Eni’s Mlima-1 deep-water well in the offshore Lamu Basin has confirmed Kenya’s interest in exploiting its offshore potential only three months after the International Court of Justice ruled against it in a maritime border dispute that places blocks under Somalia’s jurisdiction

The Kenyatta administration has told KenGen to cut geothermal tariffs, as the government widens its efforts to lower prices that previously only targeted IPPs operating in Kenya, writes Neville Otuki in Nairobi

The Kenyan utility is under pressure to stem commercial losses and meet President Kenyatta’s target of slashing consumer bills by one-third by Christmas. Renegotiations remain on the cards for IPPs, but the government insists it won’t ‘strongarm’ anybody, writes Dan Marks.

Not all recommendations from the Presidential Taskforce on Review of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are being followed. The recently-published report called for all negotiations over PPAs to be halted immediately.

The Kipevu oil terminal is due to start operations in January, substantially increasing Kenya’s capacity to handle petroleum products for its domestic market and those destined for Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.

The $5.1bn sale of Unilever’s tea division assets to CVC Capital Partners points to the potential for emerging markets’ commodities, but social and governance concerns persuaded other bidders to pull back. This and other examples – such as the cancelled Kinagop wind project detailed by Pierre Bertrand below – point to shifting ESG metrics that cannot be ignored by operators and investors in all sectors, writes Marc Howard

Kenya has been a significant bellwether for international investors and an example of the increasing need to invest in community engagement and avoid short cuts in environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) procedures. As one Kenyan specialist told the October 2019 AIX: Nairobi conference, a power developer could be greeted initially with a welcome dance or by herders carrying Kalashnikovs – investors needed to be suitably prepared .

A huge rush is under way to tackle governance issues at Kenya Power and address the cost of energy from IPPs ahead of President Kenyatta’s Christmas Day deadline for implementing recommendations of the Presidential Taskforce’s PPA review, writes Dan Marks

The pledge by China’s President Xi Jinping to end state financing of overseas coal projects – with huge ramifications for several coal-producing and importing countries – set off a lively debate about its possible ramifications. Fears about the consequence for Africa may have been overstated, according to one industry figure who responded to African Energy’s article.

Solar products company Greenlight Planet Kenya has secured a Kenyan shilling-denominated financing facility worth $75m from a group of commercial banks and development finance institutions – Standard Bank Group, Citi, CDC Group and Norfund – it was announced on 26 October.

Kenya has vowed not to abide by an International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement issued on 12 October that found in favour of Somalia’s claim to a contested sea area covering more than 100,000km2 and which contains oil and gas reserves.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered that the recommendations made by the taskforce set up to review power purchase agreements (PPAs) be implemented by end-December. This includes the renegotiation of active PPAs and a raft of measures to tackle the performance of beleaguered utility Kenya Power, with the goal of reducing electricity costs by a third.

The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) is making a new push to convince governments around Africa to support wind, with the launch of the Africa WindPower initiative on 30 September. The new body is backed by private developers and equipment suppliers such as GE Renewable Energy, Siemens Gamesa, Enel Green Power and EDF Renewables and supported by GET Invest, a European programme to promote renewable energy in developing countries.

Mombassa-based independent fuel retailer East African Gas Oil (Eagol) plans to increase the number of its outlets in Kenya from six to 15 over the coming three years, its chief executive Abdi Ali told the local Business Daily on 12 October.