Cost-effective wind power for Kenya

The wind farm will consist of 365 turbines for a total installed capacity of 310 megawatts. It will be the largest wind farm so far in sub-Saharan Africa. The construction will get underway during the spring 2014 and will take approximately 33 months to complete.

Besides Finnfund financiers include development finance institutions from Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands and France – Norfund, IFU, DEG, FMO and Proparco.

The project consists of basic improvements to the existing road over a distance of about 200 kilometres, and construction of a village for contractors and permanent project employees. Kenyan government is responsible for construction of a power line of over 400 kilometres, required for electricity transmission.

The wind farm will be located in a dry, sparsely populated area where the population is mainly nomadic. A large corporate social responsibility programme has been drawn up to assist local inhabitants.

The wind farm will employ nearby residents. About 2,500 people will be needed to construct the wind farm. After it is complete, it will provide approximately 200 jobs.

Also schools and health facilities will be built.

When complete it will contribute 16 per cent of the total installed power generating capacity in Kenya.

Electricity generated at Lake Turkana will reduce the need to import fossil fuels from abroad. Kenya’s current account will improve by an estimated 120-150 million euros annually. Clean and cheap electricity generated by the project is expected to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 790,000 tonnes a year. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of more than a quarter of a million of automobiles.