Construction of country’s largest wind power firm expected later this year

Last Updated 13 years ago by Kenya Engineer

In an earlier event last month where Lake Turkana Wind Power project signed a memorandum of understanding with the government, investors of the project expressed confidence that the project could begin the project later this year.

“The LTWP consortium comprising of Aldwych International, KP&P Africa, Industrial Fund for Developing Countries (IFU), Wind Power A.S. (Vestas) and Norwegian Investment Fund for Developing Countries (Norfund) are now confident that they will start construction later this year.”, press release.

The project which is so far the country’s largest single private investment began in 2005. The project aims to provide 300MW of reliable, low cost wind power to the Kenya national grid, equivalent to approximately 20% of the current installed electricity generating capacity. 

The wind farm site, covering 40,000 acres (162km2), is located in Loyangalani District, Marsabit West County, in north-eastern Kenya, approximately 50km north of South Horr Township. A concession area of 150,000 acres has been leased from the Government of Kenya for a 99 Year term. Whereas the footprint of the wind farm will comprise 40,000 acres, the other area will act as a buffer around the wind farm site. The 365 wind turbines (each with a capacity of 850 kW) will occupy 23 acres, the switch yard will occupy 39.5 acres and the village including workshop will occupy 25 acres amounting to a physical land take not including internal roads of only 87.5 acres.

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Ketraco), with concessional funding from the Spanish Government, is to construct a double circuit 400kv, 428km transmission line to deliver the LTWP electricity along with power from other future plants to the national grid. Ketraco will own the transmission line and have a tolling arrangement with Kenya Power.

The turbines will evacuate the power produced via overhead medium voltage (33kV) electricity collector grid system and associated step-up transformers (33/400kV) located in the switch yard. From the switch yard, power will be evacuated through a double circuit high voltage bus bar and associated circuit breaker system to the proposed 400kV transmission line.