Kenya Launches East Africa’s First Large-Scale Wind and Storage Hybrid Project

Kenya has launched what developers describe as East Africa’s first large-scale hybrid renewable energy project combining wind power with battery storage.

The Siruai project, developed by Meridiam and Craftskill Energy, will integrate 100MW of wind generation capacity with a 50MWh battery energy storage system.

The partners said they plan to invest more than €200 million in the project, which was officially launched on May 10.

According to the developers, the battery storage component is designed to manage intermittency challenges associated with renewable energy generation while improving electricity supply reliability for homes and businesses.

The project is located near the Kipeto wind farm, about 70 kilometres south of Nairobi.

The Siruai development expands Meridiam’s renewable energy footprint in Kenya following its acquisition of BTE Renewables from Actis in 2023. Meridiam already owns the 100MW Kipeto wind farm, which has been operational since July 2021.

Kenya operates one of Africa’s most renewable-based electricity systems. According to the International Energy Agency, geothermal power accounted for 43 per cent of the country’s electricity generation in 2024, followed by hydropower at 28 per cent and wind energy at 14 per cent.

Developers and policymakers highly view battery storage as critical to improving grid flexibility and supporting higher levels of renewable energy integration as generation capacity expands.