Google backs new wind farm in Kenya as its investment in clean energy tops $2B

Google is expanding its investment in green energy through a new wind project in Kenya. In total, the company has invested $2 billion in clean energy initiatives.

Today, the company pledged to purchase a stake in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project. Once the wind project is up and running, Google says it will deliver power to more than two million homes throughout Kenya and could account for 15 percent of the current grid.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1824895,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"business,","session":"B"}']

Vestas, which makes wind turbines, will donate equipment to the project, garnering a 12.5 percent stake in the Lake Turkana endeavor. After the Lake Turkana Project goes live, Google will take over Vestas’ stake. The Overseas Private Investment Corporation, as well as a development institution from the U.S. Government, are also contributing resources to the project.

This is the second project in Africa that Google has invested in. In 2013, the company announced a $12 million investment in a 96-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant in South Africa. The solar plant is said to be the largest on the continent, however, it powers substantially fewer homes than the Lake Turkana Project promises to — 80,000 at last count.

This latest investment in Kenya is supposed to help generate further innovation in the region via a 266-mile transmission line that will connect the project to Kenya’s main grid. The new line will hopefully allow more clean energy into Kenya’s power system.