AFRICAN HUB COUNTRIES Q&A
didn’t understand what the other was doing it really wouldn’t work; that integration is critical.
In general do you prefer to work with a mix of law firms or stick to just one or two? I prefer the deep relationship, and not just in Africa, I operate that way anyway. To find one firm that can really do it all and that you trust to go in together.
What balance of work do you handle internally and farm out exter- nally? Given the newness of what we’re doing – and we are setting a precedent for the future and not simply reproducing precedents that we already have – we think that it’s been very important to keep the absolute experts on each particular piece of the legal puzzle. That means external counsel. Once we are on deal three, four or five and a more mature industry, the documents will be set and we will be able to bring those documents in- house and we will be able to reap the economies of scale from this first one. But this first one, you need the expertise. There is no document that is simply cookie-cutter and that shouldn’t be looked at by multiple pairs of eyes.
Do you prefer hourly rate of fixed? I think every in-house prefers a fixed fee but you are never ever really going to get there. When I was in private practice we preferred hourly. They’ll never be compatible.
What potential do you see for developing wind energy in Kenya and elsewhere in the region? Well, I think the potential is huge, Kenya in particular because of its ge- ography and, this gets into technical issues, it has a really outstanding wind resource to harness and this wind resource is really very close to the
Christopher Schulten General counsel
Aeolus Kenya Limited Nairobi, Kenya
main city, Nairobi. It’s clean, it’s renewable and they don’t have to import any oil and gas or anything to have this energy right at their fingertips. There is also a desire to leapfrog other older, dirtier technologies and go straight to the cutting edge of clean technology and renewable. Players are gaining experience. The experiences that regulators and that investors and EPC contractors, that everyone for instance working on our deal has, means that they are now primed and ready for deal number two and why stop at two, three, four, five or six. The challenge for the renewable in- dustry is going to be the grid and there needs to be a greater base load of firm power to support a real ramp up of intermittent power through wind and solar, as that comes up. That is going to happen; it’s happening as we speak and it is the next thing. Once wind goes up to its natural percentage of the grid the next big thing will be really expanding that base load, then more wind can go on and more solar to really get into a mix. It is primed, the region is primed, and they are gaining experiences that will really pay dividends in the next five years. Kenya is on the verge of a boom, it really looks like the pieces are coming together there.
“ 54 ENERGY & INFRASTRUCTURE | SUB SAHARAN AFRICA 2013
About the author Christopher Schulten is general counsel of Aeolus Kenya Limited, a Nairobi based infrastructure development company focused on clean energy. Christopher has twelve years’ experience in New York and, most recently, Nairobi advising on project finance, corporate governance, litigation and compliance related issues. He has recently been working on a landmark 60MW wind energy project in Kenya: the Kinangop Wind Park
At the end of the day every single document is a bespoke document that is tailored to this new market
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