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/