In northern Kenya, near Lake Turkana, a low-level jet stream that originates in the Indian Ocean blows across the land year-round making it a perfect place for wind turbines. Which is why 365 of them with blades 55 meters long are now harvesting the energy contained in those winds and sending it to Kenya’s utility grid by a 500-kilometer long transmission line.
The Lake Turkana Wind Farm is the largest on the African continent, producing about 310 megawatts of electricity, contributing approximately 15% of the nation’s total power supply. It’s enough electricity to power about 330,000 local homes. Overall, Kenya is leading Africa in terms of renewable energy with plans to get 100% of its electricity from renewables by 2030 and cease its reliance on fossil fuels altogether.
The president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, told an audience as he officially dedicated the farm:
Today, we again raise the bar for the continent as we unveil Africa’s single largest wind farm, the Lake Turkana Wind Project. Kenya is without doubt on course to be a global leader in renewable energy.
Currently, the nation generates around 70% of its electricity from renewable resources (primarily hydropower and geothermal) and it has by far the strongest renewable energy sector on the continent. According to the Renewables 2018 Global Status report, Kenya ranks 9th in the world for its geothermal power generating capacity of up to 700 megawatts.
Other large-scale wind farms are currently in operation on the continent in Morocco, Ethiopia, and South Africa, so Lake Turkana is not the only one, just the biggest.
Money to construct it was raised by an international consortium that included a $200 million loan from the European Union. It cost a total of $680 million to build making it the largest private investment in the history of Kenya. Carlo van Wageningen, co-founder and board member of Lake Turkana Wind Power, said the new wind farm is a “perfect example of a PPP, which is a private-public partnership.”
Rizwan Fazal, executive director of the Lake Turkana Project, told Africa News:
It’s euphoric, you’re start what was a dream, putting together the largest private sector investment in the history of a country that comprises the largest wind farm on the continent. In an area that is what you see here. And finally, you are able to generate and produce the power.
It may have cost a lot to make, but it is expected to lower costs of electricity for many of the nation’s 52 million people, one of Lake Turkana Wind Power’s many benefits. This is possible because the wind farm will sell electricity to Kenya Power & Lighting Company Ltd — the nation’s biggest utility company — at a fixed price.
Unfortunately, there are still many parts of Kenya which do not have access to the utility grid at all. Such places could benefit from distributed renewables to improve the standard of living in rural communities and create many employment opportunities for people living in those areas.
