Construction of Africa’s biggest wind farm starts in Kenya

Kenya has started construction of Africa’s biggest wind farm that is expected to feature 365 turbines and be the most efficient in the world.

The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project is being built near Laisamis, 550km north of the capital Nairobi and will cover 40,000 acres (162km2).

The farm will be powered by the ‘Turkana Corridorwind’ low-level jet stream from the Indian Ocean that is present all year round.

The project is expected to achieve 68 per cent load capacity factor, which would make it the most efficient wind power farm in the world.

The Lake Turkana farm is part of Kenya’s ambitious project to add 5,000 MW of energy on the national grid over the next three years.

Kenya is largely dependent on hydropower and fossil fuels but analysts have predicted that wind energy will grow significantly and provide and provide a cost-efficient and reliable energy source.

Once complete, the wind farm is expected to generate about 20 per cent of the country’s power.

State-owned utility Kenya Power has signed a purchase agreement to buy the power produced by the wind farm at a fixed price over a 20-year period and the move is expected to boost energy access across Kenya significantly.

A group of investors under the auspices of the European Union is financing the 69 billion Kenyan shillings (£444 million) project with the African Development Bank as the leading the financing effort.

Tarfaya wind farm in Morocco is currently Africa’s biggest with 131 turbines.

An estimated two-thirds of Africa’s population has no access to electricity and significant developments in the wind power sector are expected to improve access considerably.