Plans to buy into largest African wind farm abandoned

Google (GOOGL.O) has canceled plans to buy a 12.5% stake in Africa’s largest wind farm after delays to the project, Danish wind turbine maker Vestas (VWS.CO) said on Monday.

The 310 megawatts (MW) Lake Turkana wind farm in Kenya was initially set for completion 2017, after which Google had committed to buy the stake from Vestas.

But the delay led to Google canceling in 2019, Vestas said.

 

“Due to delays relating primarily to the transmission line, the Vestas agreement with Google was canceled in 2019,” a Vestas spokesman told Reuters, adding that it was in talks with other potential buyers of the stake.

LTWP would have been Google’s second renewable energy investment on the continent after the Jasper solar project in South Africa’s Northern Cape in 2013. Alphabet did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The Kenyan wind power park costs 620 million euros ($679 million). The Kenyan government was forced to pay 85.6 million euros in compensation to LTWP for the delays.

Reuters

Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news and updates. You can disable anytime.