Kenya’s state-owned power producer, KenGen, has announced plans to raise funds from the market later this year and it may opt to issue the country’s first green bond.
Rebecca Miano, KenGen’s CEO, said the company would go to the market once it redeems its 10-year, 25 billion shillings ($250 million) bond in October. The bond was heavily oversubscribed when it was issued in 2009.
The so-called green bonds help to finance projects in the renewable energy, energy-efficiency, green transport and wastewater treatment sectors.
Kenya’s capital markets regulator is set to unveil regulations for private issuance of green bonds next week, paving the way for the first issue.
Geothermal steam, hot underground steam found in the Rift Valley which is used to drive turbines for electricity production, accounts for nearly a third of the firm’s annual production, Miano said.
“Our geothermal-led strategy is bearing fruit,” she said, adding the company was developing capacity for an extra 720 MW in the next four years to 2022.