LARGEST WIND FARM IN AFRICA TO BE COMMISSIONED

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to commission Kenya’s
Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) in Marsabit County – the largest wind farm in
Africa.

Construction of the mega wind farm was completed in
last year but could not produce power since the Spanish firm contracted to
develop the transmission line filed for bankruptcy. However, two Chinese firms
took over the construction of the 428-km electricity transmission line and
completed the infrastructure.

The wind farm has an installed capacity of 310MW of
clean, reliable, low-cost energy and has 365 wind turbines with a capacity of
850kW each. The project went ahead and was connected to the national grid in
October last year after tests on the wind turbines were undertaken.

LTWP signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with
the country’s sole power distributor Kenya Power and Lighting Company over a
20-year period in accordance with the Power Purchase Agreement.

The project proponent is the LTWP consortium
comprising KP&P Africa B.V and Aldwych International as co-developers, Investment Fund for Developing
Countries, Vestas Eastern Africa Limited, Finnish Fund for Industrial
Cooperation Ltd, KLP Norfund Investments AS and Sandpiper.

The wind farm project is a major boost to the country’s international commitments to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Globally, Kenya is celebrated as one of the leading countries in the world with an energy mix dominated with renewable sources especially from geothermal, a technology in which it has become a continental centre of excellence. According to the ministry of energy, there was an installed capacity of 2,712 MW with the country consuming a maximum of 1,860MW leaving a surplus of about 900MW.https://constructionreviewonline.com/2019/07/largest-wind-farm-in-africa-to-be-commissioned/