QPEA GT Menengai Ltd.
Region and country of operations: East Africa, Kenya
Jurisdiction of registration: Kenya
Business sector: Renewable energy
Date of agreement (month/year): 12/2022
Finnfund’s financing: USD 8,000,000
Share of Finnfund’s financing: 11%
Instrument: Loan
Size of project/financing: EUR 108,000,000
Environmental and social category: A
Project description
Menengai is a 35 MW 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. 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 (PISSA). Once operational, electricity will be sold to Kenya Power, the national distribution company, under a power purchase agreement (PPA) 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, enabling GDC to monetise the available steam resources from the Menengai steam field.
Main development impact
- Drive towards affordable and reliable electricity distribution for all in Kenya
- At USc 7/kWh, Menengai is considerably cheaper than the average of USc 9/kWh
- Baseload energy, critical for maintaining the grid (Western Kenya)
- Approximately 200 employees during construction, a few during operations
- Big value add on effectively leading E&S work and ensuring compliance.
More information
Last modified: March 2023
