The African Development Bank (AfDB) (as mandated lead arranger), the Eastern and Southern African Trade & Development Bank (TDB) and Finnfund, have provided a $72m debt funding to Globeleq for the 35MW Menengai geothermal project in Nakuru County, Kenya.

Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth at AfDB, said : “The Bank is proud to have led the financing of the Menengai project. The project showcases a suite of products that AfDB can bring to support our member countries to harness their geothermal energy potential.”

The Bank has provided $29.5m as senior debt and mobilized $22.4m co-financing, having earlier invested US$145 million to develop the Menengai steam field, according to Kariuki.

He added that in addition the Bank facilitated $20m concessional financing from the Clean Technology Fund to support the sustainability of the tariff and, for this specific project, AfDB will provide a Partial Risk Guarantee of $4m to enhance its bankability.

“We look forward to a successful financial close and the commissioning of the plant,” he said.

Globeleq, which is owned 70% by British International Investment and 30% by Norfund, is providing equity, project development and construction management experience. 

Menengai is a greenfield geothermal project and part of the first phase of the wider Menengai complex, which is the second large-scale geothermal field being developed in Kenya after Olkaria.

Construction of the project is expected to commence during the first quarter of 2023 once financial close has been reached. Globeleq will operate and maintain the power plant once it has reached commercial operations in 2025.

Steam will be supplied to the project by Geothermal Development Company (GDC), a Kenya government-owned company under a 25-year project implementation and steam supply agreement.  Once operational, electricity will be sold to Kenya Power, the national distribution company, under a power purchase agreement for the same timeframe.

The project also benefits from a signed and effective Letter of Support issued by the Government of Kenya. The project will deliver clean and cheap baseload power to the national grid and enable GDC to monetise the available steam resources from the Menengai steam field.

Helena Teppana, Associate Director, Finnfund, said: “This investment is yet another step in Finnfund’s commitment to make €1 billion of new investments in climate finance by 2030. The Menengai geothermal project will provide clean and affordable power to the Kenyan grid and will be a domestic source of energy which can generate base load and will have important social and economic impacts. We are proud to be investing in the power sector in Kenya with our partners.”

Mike Scholey, Globeleq’s CEO, added: “As an active participant in the Kenyan energy sector for many years, the Menengai geothermal project is our first geothermal project. It fully aligns with our focus on quality investments which utilize renewable energy sources to create clean, reliable and cost-effective energy for the country and be an active part of the solution to the climate crisis. We are very excited to collaborate with our partner GDC in bringing this important project to fruition and look forward to further developing the Menengai geothermal complex.”