Chinese PV Manufacturers Moving Up and Out to Kenya

Facing punitive tariffs in the EU, Chinese solar panel makers are eagerly looking to African markets and the state-owned Jiangxi Corporation is helping to coordinate a $140 million solar power station in Garissa, Kenya, as a base of operation. Chinese solar panel makers will supply most of the $140 million needed to build a solar power station in Garissa, Kenya, according to Xinhuanet, the information service of the Chinese government of China.

The deal, Xinhuanet says, was coordinated by China’s state-owned Jiangxi Corporation for International Economic and Technical Cooperation. The Kenyan solar park will generate up to 76 million kWh of electricity annually and provide power for about 350,000 people, half of Garissa’s population.

Jiangxi said that the project will serve as the base for China’s biggest solar panel makers to expand their presence in Africa. The deal was sealed as the European Commission imposed anti-dumping tariffs on solar panels made in China.

Chinese solar companies “mired in debt and overcapacity are in great need to find alternative markets, as their biggest importer will probably buy less due to the duties,” Xinhuanet said. After China finishes building the Kenyan plant, Xinhuanet added, “Chinese solar panel makers may bulk up in Africa.”