While Kenya is blessed with some natural resources, the country has always faced challenges in ensuring that benefits derived from these resources are shared in an equitable manner. Often, the host communities have complained that they are getting the shorter end of the stick.
Our energy and natural resources lawyers deliver to our clients the focused, innovative sector advice they need, in Kenya and beyond.
We are entering an era of unprecedented demand for power generation and transmission, especially in East Africa. This dynamic, together with the challenges we all face from climate crisis, is creating new opportunities for alternative energies and new technologies.
Our energy clients receive coordinated, across-the-board coverage for their needs, including construction and projects, corporate, competition, regulatory, contractual, trading, litigation/arbitration, dispute resolution and tax issues. We understand the technical, geographical, commercial and geopolitical factors that shape the industry and have first-hand access to contacts, sponsors and decision makers.
IKM has been involved in numerous transactions pertaining to the energy sector, particularly those related to petroleum, geothermal, hydropower, solar, wind and coal. We also assist all participants in the oil and gas sector.
Experience has included advising:
- The sponsors of a USD1.8 billion energy project on the development of a 100 MW wind power plant in Kajiado, Kenya
- Senior lenders on the development and construction of a 140 MW geothermal power plant and related facilities in the Rift Valley region in Kenya and the sale of capacity and energy to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company
- An international oil and gas exploration and development company on its rights under a production sharing contract with the Kenyan government for the acquisition of on-shore exploration blocks
- Government of Kenya in a multibillion investment arbitration proceedings filed by Cortec Mining Kenya Limited at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID)
- The government of an East African country on its oil and gas operations
- The senior lenders on a 981 MW coal-fired power plant in Lamu County, Kenya
- An international company on a grant of concessions over coal mines in Kenya
- The receivers appointed in respect of the sale of wind turbine generators and other assets from a company
- The sponsors on the financing of two 40 MW solar power projects
- Ranked Tier 1 in Projects & Privatization (The Legal 500 2019)
- Ranked Band 2 in Projects & Energy (Chambers & Partners 2019)
- Ranked in Projects & Finance (IFLR1000)
It has been unsettling to hear reports that January 2024 was the hottest January on record and the earth’s temperature in the year leading up to end of January 2024 rose by more than 1.5C. If global warming is accelerating, then efforts to address it require similar momentum.
Thanks to new renewable power projects coming online, Kenya’s generation capacity now exceeds 3,000 MW. This success is partly attributable to investments from Independent Power Producers.
The development of offshore renewable energy in Africa is still in its nascent stages, with a number of offshore solar, wind and tidal projects currently going through feasibility studies in countries such as South Africa and Ghana.
The transition to electric vehicles (EVs) cannot be gainsaid as the elimination of tail pipe emissions is a central part of the climate change offensive. Kenya’s electric mobility ambitions led it to sign the COP26 declaration on accelerating the transition to 100% zero-emission vehicles. The brutal truth is that we have little choice about switching to EVs because car manufacturers will over time abandon internal combustion engines (ICEs) given the stance of regions like the EU, which will effect a ban on new ICE vehicle sales by 2035.