French renewable power producer Voltalia SA (EPA:VLTSA) has won a contract to build a 55-MW solar park in Kenya for independent power producer Alten Energias Renovables.

Under the deal, awarded through a competitive selection, Voltalia will install the photovoltaic (PV) plant in the municipality of Eldoret, Uasin Gishu state. Additionally, it will deliver operation and maintenance (O&M) services for the plant for 10 years, it announced on Thursday. The construction phase of the project has already commenced and the commissioning of the plant is scheduled for end-2020.

According to the statement, the photovoltaic (PV) project is the second largest of its kind in Central and Eastern Africa and will support Kenya in achieving its goal of providing universal electricity access in the country by 2020.

Voltalia is currently working on a 50-MW solar project in Kenya’s Nandi county, planning to initiate construction by end-2019. A power purchase agreement (PPA) for the Kopere plant was signed last summer.

Source: Renewables Now