Clifford Chance Advised on Climate Finance Partnership's Debut African Investment

Clifford Chance Advised on Climate Finance Partnership's Debut African Investment

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised BlackRock's Climate Finance Partnership (CFP) on its first investment in Africa, acquiring a stake in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, the largest operational wind farm on the continent.

Clifford Chance's support covered all aspects of the acquisition from Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited, the 310 MWe project located in Marsabit, Kenya. This involved transactions with Vestas Eastern Africa Limited, the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation Ltd. (Finnfund), and the Danish Investment Fund for Developing Countries (IFU).

A multidisciplinary team, led by partner Nicholas Hughes and including director Danny Mutisya, senior associate Anthony Santangeli, and associate Dominic Behar, handled the case. Other specialists from departments like Construction and Antitrust were also involved.

This significant project, harnessing some of the world's best wind resources, supplies over 15 per cent of Kenya's electricity through the national grid. A dedicated 428km transmission line delivers power from the project near Lake Turkana to key demand centres.

BlackRock's Climate Finance Partnership, a public-private initiative, aims to accelerate investments in climate-related projects across emerging markets in Africa, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.

This transaction highlights Clifford Chance's expertise in advising private equity clients on leading energy transition investments in Africa and other developing markets, as demonstrated by their recent work with BlackRock on Ditrolic Energy's solar projects in South and Southeast Asian nations like Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Click to know more about Clifford Chance