Name of the Project
Lake Turkana wind power (LTWP) project.

Location
The project is located on the south-eastern shore of Lake Turkana, in Loiyangalani district, Marsabit County, in northern Kenya.

Project Owner/s
The LTWP consortium comprising KP&P Africa and Aldwych International as co-developers, the Investment Fund for Developing Countries, Vestas Eastern Africa, the Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation, KLP Norfund Investments and Sandpiper.

The transmission line is being constructed by Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco).

Project Description
The project entails the construction of a 310 MW wind farm that will feature three hundred and sixty-five 850 kW wind turbine generators, each with a capacity of 850 kW.

The project also includes the upgrade of the existing road of about 204 km, from Laisamis to the wind farm site, and an access road network in and around the site for construction, operations and maintenance.

Kenyan national grid company Ketraco is constructing a double-circuit 400 kV, 428 km transmission line from the outskirts of Nairobi to Loyangalani, near the project site. This will allow for future electrification of nearby rural areas where previously no electricity was available.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
€625-million.

Planned Start/End Date
LTWP began injecting power into the national grid on in September 2018.

The project was inaugurated in July 2019.

Latest Developments
Vestas Wind Systems is looking for a new buyer for its 12.5% stake in Africa’s largest wind farm after Google dropped plans to buy it following project delays.

The Danish turbine manufacturer blamed the Alphabet unit’s decision to pull out on “delays relating primarily to the transmission line” for the LTWP. The 310 MW farm’s high-voltage link to the grid, scheduled for completion in October 2016, was delayed by two years after contractors were changed.

“As Vestas’ strategy doesn’t include being a long-term wind park owner, we’re currently in commercial dialogue with potential buyers of our shares,” Vestas spokesperson Anders Riis has said.

LTWP would have been Google’s second renewable-energy investment on the continent after the Jasper solar project in South Africa’s Northern Cape in 2013.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Vestas (wind turbines), Mott MacDonald (lenders’ technical adviser) and NARI Group Corporation and Power China Guizhou Engineering Company (Loiyangalani–Suswa powerline).

Contact Details for Project Information
LTWP news and media contact, +254 (0)20 221 3493, email info@ltwp.co.ke or email media@ltwp.co.ke.