Vestas sells stake in 310MW Kenyan wind farm to BlackRock fund
Summary
Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has completed the divestiture of its 12.5% stake in Kenyas Lake Turkana wind project to the Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), a fund managed by BlackRock, reported.CFP has been seeking to acquire a 31.25% stake in the 310MW Lake Turkana wind farm from other investors such as Finnish development financier Finnfund and Denmarks Investment Fund for Developing Countries, reported.The wind farm on the shores of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya has been operational since 2018.Vestas supplied the project with 365 V52-850 wind turbines with 850kW of capacity and will continue to provide maintenance services.The project includes a 428km transmission line, the construction of which has faced delays due to political and financial challenges.The Lake Turkana wind farm is capable of generating sufficient electricity to meet 14% of the countrys total demand.The sale aligns with Vestas strategy to develop wind farms without retaining long-term ownership.The deal was initially announced in March 2023 after Google withdrew from plans to acquire the 12.5% stake.In January 2024, Vestas revealed plans to build a new blade factory in Szczecin, Poland. Expected to open in 2026 and create 1,000 jobs, the facility will produce blades for the V236-15.0 MW offshore wind turbine.In December 2023, Vattenfall chose the Danish company as the preferred supplier for the 1.38GW Norfolk Vanguard West project in the UK. Vanguard West will feature 92 of these turbines.In the same month, Vestas signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraines DTEK to construct the second phase of the Tyligulska wind project in Ukraine. The 114MW first phase was built with a $200m (185.21m) investment and commissioned in May 2023.