Page 10 - AfrElec Week 43 2021

AfrElec RENEWABLES AfrElec

Kenya’s Kipeto wind farm gets

innovative loan to fund biodiversity

KENYA KIPETO Energy Plc (KEP) has secured a $10mn biodiversity loss, we must find every available
loan for conservation initiatives around the opportunity to invest in ways that benefit nature
firm’s wind farm near Nairobi, the capital city of and people together,” she said.
Kenya. The BAP was developed in consultation with
KEP will use the money to advance conserva- various nature and wildlife conservation experts.
tion work by implementing local human-wild- It includes a number of projects to improve the
life initiatives around the100MW Kipeto wind livelihoods of the community through local
power generating plant, located in Kajiado job creation and by building improved preda-
county, 45km from Nairobi. tor-proof animal enclosures for local farmers.
“Kipeto is implementing an ambitious biodi- The BAP aims to ensure the preservation of
versity action plan (BAP) which comprises close endangered species of vultures by undertaking
collaboration with the local community to pro- activities such as enhanced monitoring and car-
tect the surrounding flora and fauna,” said KEP cass clearance, while implementing shutdown
in press release. on demand and raptor rescue protocols.
The wind farm is located in an area fre- BTE’s Business Development Director
quented by wildlife, especially vultures, which Nikhath Zigmund said collaboration between
scavenge on dead animals and are hated by cattle the firm and TNC demonstrates opportunities
herders in the locality. Vultures are also prone to for private capital to be deployed in novel ways
collide with wind turbines. to address conservation challenges.
Kipeto has signed a 20-year power purchase “We look forward to working closely with
agreement with Kenya Power and the plant TNC on the Kipeto biodiversity committee to
started supplying 100MW of electricity, gener- support the needs of the local community and
ated by 60 wind turbines, to the national grid also honour our commitment to the net gain of
in July 2021, after reaching financial close in critically endangered vultures,” she said.
December 2018. The use of the $10mn is governed by the bio-
BTE Renewables (BTE), an Actis company, diversity subcommittee of Kipeto’s board, which
Craftskills Ltd and The Nature Conservancy comprises leading independent local and inter-
(TNC) arranged the $10mn loan for Kipeto. national avifauna organisations. TNC has joined
Over the project’s life, the money from TNC Kipeto’s biodiversity committee and it will pro-
and other investors will fund human-wildlife vide technical assistance for implementing the
initiatives bringing together multiple parties to biodiversity action plan.
advance conservation. The BAP includes on-site mitigation meas-
The Kipeto wind farm was funded by BTE ures and off-site vulture conservation interven-
(formerly BioTherm Energy), which provided tions, including radio tracking and awareness
88% of equity, with the other 12% supplied by programmes within communities to decrease
Kenyan-owned Craftskills. Along with equity human-wildlife conflict, such as poisoning.
capital, there was senior debt funding from the Vultures have a bad reputation with Kenyan
government-owned United States International herders, who get rid of the birds by poisoning
Development Finance Corporation (DFC). The animal carcasses. Vultures in Africa are on the
African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) provides verge of extinction because of human-wildlife
on-demand insurance. conflict.
Charlotte Kaiser, the Managing Director of According to Birdlife International, seven
NatureVest – TNC’s in-house impact investing of the eleven African vulture species are now
team – said that the organisation, along with threatened with extinction. In the last 50 years
other investors, had made the loan available to the population of vultures has declined by 80%-
support biodiversity and communities because 97%, including a 92% decline for five African
Kipeto’s partners had invested in renewable species.™
energy to fight climate change.
“With the twin crises of climate change and

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 28•October•2021