The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has committed $233m in debt financing to support construction and operation of the Kipeto Wind Power Project in Kajiado, Kenya.

The 100-megawatt, grid-connected wind power facility located south of Nairobi will be, when complete, one of the first utility-scale wind projects to come online in Kenya, where over 75% of the population still lack access to reliable electricity.

The Kipeto project, announced during President Obama’s visit to Kenya, is expected to provide cleaner and more reliable energy to Kenya’s national grid, helping to further bolster the country’s growing economy.

Elizabeth Littlefield, CEO of OPIC, said: “Kipeto is a transformative project for many reasons, principally for the clean and reliable energy it will supply to Kenyan citizens.”

“It will be one of Kenya’s first utility-scale wind projects and can contribute more than 20% of residential power consumption at current usage rates. Our commitment to Kipeto is also a significant step in OPIC’s pledge to President Obama’s Power Africa Initiative. OPIC is proud to support the Kipeto project and its role in advancing Kenya’s economic prosperity,” she said.

Kipeto Energy shareholders include Africa Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), Craftskills Wind Energy International, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Maasai community of Kipeto.

Craftskills initially began development of this project in collaboration with General Electric (GE) in 2010.

In August 2014, GE committed to invest $2bn in facility development, skills training, and sustainability initiatives across Africa by 2018.

Jay Ireland, President and CEO of GE Africa, said: “GE has made significant progress against the investment commitments made last August.”

“Skills training and capacity building are critical, not only for developing African economies, but also for growing GE’s footprint in the region. We consider this a major priority,” he said.

The $155 million contract between GE Africa and Kipeto Energy will include 60 GE 1.7-103 wind turbines, as well as a 15-year service agreement.