Google to buy 12.5 per cent stake in Kenya wind project

• 8 years ago (2015-10-22)

Africa 306 North America 1004 Renewables 757

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Joe Mucheru, Google energy lead for Africa, said: “Africa is a great place to invest and energy is one of the key demands for the market, there is a lot of business growth, it’s a fast growing economy and we need to have more renewable energy.”

Mucheru also went on to say that the cost of thermal energy generation in the current climate is too high, and that Google believed that it was making a good investment because it will allow Google to be involved in a transformative project that will increase Kenya’s energy infrastructure.

At present, this is the largest wind investment within Africa and it is hoped that it will be the first of more investment into the sector. According to Mucheru, Google has invested in one other wind project in Africa, the Jasper 96 MW solar project in South Africa.

“[In total,] we have invested alongside other international investors and the government that is building the transmission line - it’s about $40 million, about 4 billion shillings and it’s a start and we hope this will help us invest more as we continue to have our presence here in Africa.”