Dar es Salaam — A Swedish firm has relocated a proposed Sh5.3 trillion wind power project to Tanzania from Kenya, citing frustration by Kenyan authorities.
The wind farm in the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi would have been the largest in Africa, costing Ksh253 billion (Sh5.3 trillion).
According to Kenya's Business Daily, VR Holding AB had last year expressed interest in building a 600MW wind farm in the Indian Ocean waters bordering Ras Ngomeni in Malindi, but Kenya's Ministry of Energy officials turned down the request, citing lack of a framework for renewable energy projects of that scale besides low demand for electricity in the country.
The firm's executives said they had opted for investment in Tanzania, which shares the Indian Ocean coastline with Kenya.
"We have opted to look at offshore solutions for Tanzania," Ms Victoria Rikede, an executive at the company, said.
However, the acting Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Mr Innocent Luoga, told The Citizen yesterday that the investors had yet to officially communicate with his office.
Tanzania: Swedish Firm Relocates Sh5tr Wind Power Project to Tanzania
The wind farm in the Kenyan coastal town of Malindi would have been the largest in Africa, costing Ksh253 billion (Sh5.3 trillion).
According to Kenya's Business Daily, VR Holding AB had last year expressed interest in building a 600MW wind farm in the Indian Ocean waters bordering Ras Ngomeni in Malindi, but Kenya's Ministry of Energy officials turned down the request, citing lack of a framework for renewable energy projects of that scale besides low demand for electricity in the country.
The firm's executives said they had opted for investment in Tanzania, which shares the Indian Ocean coastline with Kenya.
"We have opted to look at offshore solutions for Tanzania," Ms Victoria Rikede, an executive at the company, said.
However, the acting Commissioner for Energy and Petroleum Affairs, Mr Innocent Luoga, told The Citizen yesterday that the investors had yet to officially communicate with his office.
Tanzania: Swedish Firm Relocates Sh5tr Wind Power Project to Tanzania