The Kenya president, Uhuru Kenyatta has on Friday, 19th July commissioned the Kenya’s wind power plant at Loiyangalani District, Marsabit County, Kenya. The plant has 365 wind turbines, each processing 850 kilovolts capacity and can deliver 310 megawatts of clean energy to the national grid. The wind plant which sits on 40,000 acres (162km2) of land is the biggest in the continent. It is powered by the ‘Turkana Corridorwind,’ a low-level jet stream originating from the Indian Ocean that blows all year round.
President Kenyatta, in his speech said ‘without the wind power plant, the fuel cost charge would have been as high as Sh5.75 per kwh in May 2019 when compared to Sh3.75 per kWh cost that was applied in that particular month”. The $680 million project was commissioned at a ceremony graced by dignitaries. The Deputy President, William Ruto, the Energy Cabinet Secretary, Charles Keter, foreign diplomats, and other high profile government officials were in attendance.
The project which was undertaken through a public-private partnership is set to have wide rang of benefits for the country. One such benefit according to the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) is cost reduction. KETRACO states that the country will save Sh1 billion annually on fuel importation with regards to electricity generation. The executive director of LTPP project, Rizwan Fazal, had earlier affirmed that the plant is a strong indication to Kenya’s readiness for projects.
Kenya’s wind power plant is connected through a 428-kilometer power line to the national grid in Suswa. It generates 15 percent of Kenya’s entire installed capacity. Meanwhile, the planned national power generation capacity was 17 percent.
Kenya is a country that relies so much on hydro power and geothermal. Its epilepsy state and high cost had hindered businesses such that businesses in energy-intensive sectors are planing to take off. So, wind energy is expected to reduce the country’s power tariff by providing a low cost and reliable power source.
Meanwhile, wind farm already existed in places like Morocco, Ethiopia, and South Africa. Before this launch, the Morocco plant was the largest with 131 turbines. South Africa economic also enjoys economic development in that area. But so far, Kenya’s plant surpasses them all.
The project is part of Kenya’s plan to hit 100 percent of clean energy by 2020 and is one of Kenya’s Vision 2030 flagship projects.
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