UK injects £52m into solar power plant in Kenya

It will provide clean electricity to the Malindi region in South East Kenya, which currently struggles with regular power shortages

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt has welcomed funding totalling £52 million that has been raised for a solar power plant in Kenya.

The project, run by British-headquartered power company Globeleq and funded by CDC, the UK’s development finance institution, is due to come online in 2020.

It will provide clean electricity to the Malindi region in South East Kenya, which currently struggles with regular power shortages and relies largely on expensive thermal plants.

Power will be supplied to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

Up to 250 direct jobs are to be created, in addition to a further 5,600 jobs in the wider economy.

On the final day of his week-long visit to Africa last week, Mr Hunt said: “I have seen for myself the incredible opportunities opening up between the UK and Kenya and the close partnership which already exists between our countries. It is great to see British investment creating jobs, prosperity and growth in Kenya and across the continent.”

Latest Podcast