
Laura Kiwelu
Biography
Laura Kiwelu is a projects, power and carbon markets lawyer based in London. She focuses on advising developers, lenders, governments and investors on developing and financing power and carbon projects in emerging markets, with a particular focus on Africa.
Laura has over a decade of experience advising on innovative landmark renewables projects in Africa, including first in country solar PV projects in Rwanda, Malawi, Cameroon, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Kenya, as well as the region’s first battery storage, transmission and interconnection projects, and has previously spent several years practising in East Africa. Laura is an extremely versatile lawyer who also regularly advises on power and carbon trading transactions across both developed and emerging markets.
Professional experience
Representative experience
Representative experience
Advising:
Power
- JCM Power on the Salima 60MW solar PV and Golomoti 20MW solar PV and battery storage projects in Malawi, which were the first renewables projects to be successfully developed in Malawi.
- Kamoa Copper S.A. on its procurement of baseload power through co-located solar PV and battery storage for the Kamoa-Kakula mining complex, including running negotiations with Cross Boundary Energy and Green World.
- Botswana Power Corporation on its solar procurement programme of 15 projects, including advising through to the financial close of the 50MW Selebi Phikwe project and 50MW Mmadinare project developed by Scatec Solar and financed by a consortium of IFC and RMB, and the 100MW Jwaneng project.
- a DRC mining company on offtake arrangements in respect of a Zambia to DRC interconnector project, involving negotiation of wheeling agreements and power purchase agreements, regulatory analysis and concession arrangements.
- Izuba Energy on a solar PV and battery storage project in Rwanda providing electricity to a vaccine manufacturing facility with wheeling through the Rwandan grid.
- a gold mining company in Burkina Faso on a private PPA with a European renewables developer, including advising on interface with mining operations.
- Africa GreenCo, a renewable power trading company and service provider in Southern Africa, on its establishment, structuring and project documents.
- a major gold mining company in Tanzania on its concession negotiations with the Government of Tanzania.
- the developer consortium on the 30MW Vungu solar PV project in Zimbabwe which was selected as the pilot project for the Government’s procurement programme.
- a developer consortium on a solar PV PPA in Zimbabwe involving a private offtaker and trading through the Southern Africa Power Pool.
- a DRC-based mining company on its purchase of power from ZESCO and wheeling through CEC grid infrastructure in the Copperbelt region of Zambia and the DRC Zambia interconnector.
- on various wind and solar corporate PPAs with offtakers including major retailers, cloud platform providers and international healthcare companies in Europe, including in respect of renewable energy certificates.
- an investor on its equity investment in the first independent transmission project in Africa through the upgrade of substations in Uganda under an implementation agreement and transmission services agreement.
- the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees on its procurement programme for the supply of solar PV and battery systems to deep field compounds in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.
Carbon
- Africa GoGreen Fund for Renewable Energy on its financing of a cookstoves project in Rwanda developed by DelAgua, including analysis of a letter of authorsation for the CORSIA markets.
- a climate fund on the due diligence aspects and carbon prepayment offtake arrangements in relation to a reforestation project in Brazil.
- an international fund focused on natural capital on both the carbon aspects of its fund incorporation and on its first fund investment on a reforestation project in Peru.
- a natural capital fund on its offtake of VCUs from a reforestation and conservation project involving ranches in Costa Rica.
- Standard Chartered Bank on a first of a kind scaleable rock weathering project involving British Airways and CORCs issued by Puro.Earth.
- Africa GoGreen Fund for Renewable Energy on its financing of a portfolio of cookstove projects in eight jurisdictions in Africa.
- a developer, KOKO Networks, on the first carbon project Article 6 coverage to be provided by MIGA in relation to a biofuel project in Kenya.
Admissions
Admissions
- Solicitor, qualified in England & Wales
Languages
Languages
- English
- French
- Swahili