Kenyan offshore wind farm may be built in Tanzania
Sweden's VR Holding is considering moving its proposed 600 MW offshore wind project in the Indian Ocean to Tanzania from Kenya, which has no established mechanism to support large-scale renewable energy projects and where demand for power is low. Kenya's grid would also struggle to handle the project's output, VR said. The KES253bn ($2.45bn) installation was to be built off the coast near the Kenyan town of Malindi. VR may submit a revised proposal of 50 MW, which would make the project eligible for Kenya's feed-in-tariff programme.
Swedish group VR Holding AB, the company behind a 600-MW offshore wind project in the Indian Ocean, is now looking at Tanzania after Kenya proved to be "a very difficult place", Kenyan newspaper The Citizen reported last week.

In Kenya there is no established mechanism for support for large-scale renewable energy projects and demand for power is low. Also, the grid cannot cope, Victoria Rikede, a VR Holding executive said, said as quoted by the newspaper.

The Swedish company’s initial plan, worth KES 253 billion (USD 2.45bn/EUR 2.07bn), was to install the wind park off the Kenyan town of Malindi in the Indian Ocean. According to documents seen by the Business Daily, the Kenyan government has advised the developer to install a smaller wind park. VR Holding was expected to submit a revised proposal of 50 MW, the director of renewable energy at the ministry, Isaac Kiva, was cited as saying.

Under its feed-in-tariff (FiT) programme for renewables, Kenya supports only small and medium-sized projects of up to 50 MW.

(KES 100 = USD 0.968/EUR 0.819)

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