A Tokyo-based PV module provider has moved forward with the development of its initial utility-scale PV plant by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the authorities in Kitui County, approximately 170km southeast of Nairobi.
The project — which materialised from combined studies that Looop carried out with the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology — will be the first solar display to be developed by a Japanese company on the continent outside of South Africa, according to an online report.
Looop will develop and realise the business plan, while the local government will provide support and offer land.
Upon completion, the electricity will be sold to utility Kenya Power under the nation’s feed-in tariff (FIT) system over a period of 20 years.
Kenya’s growing installed solar aptitude stood at just 24 MW at the end of 2015, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Nonetheless, interest in utility-scale PV development has been on the rise in Kenya in recent years.
The project is being developed with the goal of contributing stable supply of electric power necessary for achieving the 2030 vision.
The signing ceremony was held in Tokyo in December 2016.
