NAIROBI, Kenya, March 1 – Lake Turkana Wind Power is currently in a position to produce up to 33 percent of its expected target of 310 MW.
In addition a total of 347 out of 365 turbines have already been already erected, which is a clear indication that the project is on course for completion as per its original plan by June this year.
The firm’s General Manager, Phylip Leferink, said the remaining twenty turbines have already been delivered on site and the technical team, from Vestas and Siemens, are working day and night to ensure that they meet the timelines as per the contractual obligations.
Assembly of the turbines began in March 2016 and all 365 are expected to be up and running by June 2017.
The total cost of the project is estimated at Sh70 billion, said Mr Leferink, adding that the firm targets to have an annual generation capacity of 1.6 billion kilowatt hour (kWh), while the tariff rate would be Sh8.6 per kWh as per the 20-year long deal struck between the wind farm and the government.
A double circuit 400kV, 438km transmission line is currently being constructed by Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco). The line will evacuate the electricity from the 40,000-acre wind farm to the national grid via the Suswa sub-station.
On completion, the Marsabit-based wind firm, which is arguably the biggest wind farm on the continent, will produce enough energy to power an additional 1 million Kenyan households.
Once Lake Turkana Wind Power is fully operational it will add 310 MW of renewable generation capacity to Kenya’s grid.
Currently Kenya, which relies heavily on renewables such as geothermal and hydro-power, aims to expand installed capacity to about 6,700 MW by 2017, up from 1,700 MW in 2013.
