BlackRock’s Climate Finance Partnership (CFP) investment in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya was deemed by judges as an excellent example of a global organisation investing into Africa and was thusly awarded the Renewables Acquisition of the Year for the region.  

CFP acquired stakes from Vestas, Danish Climate Investment Fund (DCIF) and FinnFund for a total of about 31.25% stake in the largest operational wind project in Africa. 

The CFP is a flagship public-private finance vehicle managed by BlackRock seeking to accelerate the flow of capital into climate-related investments in emerging markets across Africa, APAC and LatAm. 

This was CFP’s first transaction in Africa and allowed the fund to expand its portfolio of sustainable energy investments to an increasingly important market. 

The project benefits from some of the world’s best onshore wind speeds and supplies over 15% of Kenya’s total electricity capacity, benefiting from a 428km transmission line, delivering power from the site to centres of demand. 

The deal, which was initially announced in March 2023, closed in February 2024 demonstrating the complexity of the deal.  

The transaction was also particularly complex given the type and number of issues that the parties had to navigate in order to successfully close the transaction. In addition to general economic uncertainties prevailing in Kenya, the transaction was undertaken in an environment where the government of Kenya was reviewing all existing power purchase agreements with independent power producers and seeking significant concessions from the private sector. This market dynamic created uncertainties for investors in the market which we helped our client navigate. 

A member of the judging panel said: “The transaction scores highly due to the complexity thrown up by the jurisdiction.” 

Another judge said: “This is an excellent example of delivering an investment by a global organisation into Africa, successfully overcoming some serious challenges of regulation, political, economic and exchange rate risks. With 310MW capacity, this is not a small asset. It creates a helpful precedent for other global investors to consider Africa, while also setting a precedent for governments in Africa on a bankable transaction. Great work by the team.” 

Advisers: 

• Clifford Chance – legal to CFP
• Kaplan & Stratton – legal to CFP
• Anjarwalla & Khanna – legal to sellers