Lake Turkana wind project on course to beat deadline

The Lake Turkana wind power project is ahead of schedule with the injection of the first 90 megawatts expected in 2017.

However the addition of the cheap power to the national grid will take a while longer with transmission lines to the project site in Marsabit County yet to be put in place.

Power from the wind farm will be sold at Sh8.60 per kilowatt hour over a 20 year period, a fair comparison compared to the Sh19 other independent power producers sell electricity to Kenya Power.

The project was initially expected to have the power ready by December.

Lake Turkana Wind Power General Manager Phylip Leferink said the firm was progressing well with the putting of the turbines.

“We are impressed with the progress that we have made so far; we are working with our project partners to ensure that we complete this wind farm within the stipulated time. This will ensure that we will soon be able to play a key role in Kenya’s energy supply and make a significant contribution towards the country’s economic growth,” Mr Leferink said.

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company ran into wayleave acquisition challenges that will set back the project timelines.

Lake Turkana Wind Power has already installed 155 of the 365 turbines for the project expected to generate 310 megawatts of electricity when complete by the end of 2017.

The government has been focusing more on renewable energy with the aim of lowering electricity costs in the country.