Emerging markets energy developer Joule Africa, the Republic of Cameroon and Energy of Cameroon (ENEO) signed an agreement on Jan. 13 to develop the US$1.5 billion 485-MW Kpep hydropower project, located on the Katsina-Ala River near the Nigerian border in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.
Joule Africa is a member of the U.S.-based Joule Investments Group developing renewable energy projects in Africa. The company also has offices in London, England; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Port Louis, Mauritius; and in Yaounde, the capital of Cameroon.
ENEO is a semi-public company in the Cameroon energy sector of which 56% of its capital is held by Actis and 44% by the state. Actis, based in London, is an investor in growth markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America, and the company said it has US$6.3 billion in funds under management today.
According to Joule Africa, a pre-feasibility study conducted in 2012 by Germany-based Lahmeyer International identified the potential of the Katsina-Ala River as a site to develop the Kpep project.
Completion of the Kpep project is expected to take four years and when commissioned, according to ENEO, will increase Cameroon’s power generation capacity by 40%.
