Kenya seeking consultants for 42.5 MW solar project

State-owned Kenyan Electricity Generating Company PLC (KenGen) has kicked off a tender for consulting services on a 42.5 MW solar project.

The contract holder will supervise and manage the Seven Forks project, which is expected to take 58 months to complete. The project site is in Embu County.

According to the tender documents, the chosen consultant will handle engineering and design duties, in addition to project and contract management.

The authorities are seeking bidders who have designed and supervised a minimum of two grid-connected PV projects, each at least 50 MW in size, within the past decade. The tender requires expertise in overseeing, installing, and integrating two battery energy storage systems of at least 5 MWh each, along with a track record of supervising two 132 kV substations and transmission lines. Experience in Sub-Saharan Africa is also a prerequisite.

KenGen is financing the project with funds from France’s Agence Française de Développement. Expressions of interest must be submitted by Feb. 21, 2024, when KenGen will ask a maximum of six applicants to submit proposals.

The auction follows a late-2023 call for feasibility study applications on a proposed 40 MW floating PV array, to be installed at the 94 MW Kamburu Dam in southern Kenya.

Kenya had 307 MW of installed solar capacity at the end of 2022, according to the International Renewable Energy Association.

Author: Patrick Jowett