Africa’s biggest wind farm coming up in Kenya
Some of the African regions are so hot that unless you’re are accustomed to that climate it is not possible for your to survive. Extreme temperatures also generate extreme winds and perhaps this is the reason wind farms have great potential in Africa. Some 365 giant wind turbines will be installed in desert around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya to create the biggest wind farm in Africa. Once completed — tentatively in 2012 — the £533m project, backed by the African Development Bank, will have a capacity of 300MW, a quarter of Kenya’s current installed power and one of the highest proportions of wind energy to be fed in a national grid anywhere in the world.
“Kenya’s natural fuel should come from the wind, hot underground rock and the sun, whose potential has barely even been considered,” said Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the United Nations Environment Programme.
A good thing about such projects is that after the setup cost the energy is almost free.
Blessed with one of the highest wind velocities in the world and fiercest exposures to sun, most African countries have been slow on getting on to the alternative power band wagon. Morocco and Egypt have been making some strides towards harnessing wind power on commercial scales. Saharan countries Kenya and Ethiopia too are trying to bridge the enormous gap between demand and supply by tapping into wind energy. Ethiopia has commissioned a £190m, 120MW farm in Tigray region, representing 15% of the current electricity capacity. It intends to build several more projects like this. Tanzania has announced plans to generate at least 100MW of power from two projects in the central Singida region, more than 10% of the country’s current supply. To encourage wind power generate and reduce its dependence on coal-generated energy, South Africa has announce a feed-in tariff for wind power: people contributing to the grid by generating wind energy get paid. It’s the first African country to do so.
For the Lake Turkana Wind Power project the German consortium working on it has leased 66,000 hectares of the world’s largest permanent desert lake. The hot wind here consistently blows throughout the year through the channel between the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands.
The project of course has its share of problems. Transporting turbines to the remote site of Loiyangalani is going to take time and effort. The site is nearly 300 miles north of Nairobi. In order to make trucks ply the roads and bridges will need to be mended. Then there are security issues: even the local tribesmen casually carry Kalashnikovs.
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August 7th, 2009
I assume that “remote” refers to the distance between these areas and human inhabitants. But what about the wildlife? How will these relatively untouched areas of the world fare as energy developments? How many dead birds can we expect to find at the feet of these towers?
August 8th, 2009
I believe that this could help Africa develop by providing jobs and an eco-structure for development. This can only help the economic development by providing jobs and finance to its people by bringing in professionals to spend money and citizens earning money. While benefiting the country and citizens by needing to provide for these professionals. While supplying energy to the rest of the world. this will drive up their GDP and improve regional developments improving the standard of living.
August 9th, 2009
This is superb news. Wind farms are a clean form of energy. Much cleaner and more environmentally friendly than the alternatives. If we are going to develop as a species we need to do so in a balanced way. Wind turbines have a minor negative environmental impact in comparison to the positive impact. You would expect to find very few dead birds at the feet of any wind tower. Birds don’t fly into trees and die. More birds are killed by cars, buildings (windows) and house cats than are killed by wind turbines. Even more species will be killed by climate change if we fail to act in an environmentally sustainable way.
August 9th, 2009
I don’t think we can stop at decreasing carbon output, though. There are too many of us using too much energy. A few wind towers sounds like a fine idea, especially in underdeveloped areas of the world. But they can’t replace oil, any more than corn can. We’d need too many towers, too much corn. Wind towers are a fine first effort, but we need to be looking further into the future… it may arrive sooner than we think.
Zero population growth would be the most responsible first step, followed by lifestyle changes in all developing countries, but most particularly in the US. THEN, we can look at new technologies.
August 13th, 2009
Wow, this is really impressive. It’s great to see that all around the world, people are beginning to step it up and use alternative energy.
August 14th, 2009
I cant wait for the project to be complete. Being a Kenyan and facing the worst of global warming in our country currently, such a project wouldn’t have come at a better time.
August 28th, 2009
This news has encouraged to base my thesis on the wind farm in Kenya. I am looking into this topic on a cost perspective as a quantity surveyors view. This could give a better understanding on the potentials of the wind farm in various other factors than the most obvious one of the environment. But till now I haven’t been able to establish enough information on this, if anyone could assist me with this, will be greatly appreciative.
November 6th, 2009
Since I am involved in the setup of an environmental project/group in Kisumu at the border of Victoria Lake , I was very happy to hear this great news on the dutch daily news some days ago ! I have told my kenian friends and they are very glad as well to hear that the great need for endurable energy resources is being looked after now and I am so proud to be able to say that its a dutchman that is behind all of this ! THANKS
December 29th, 2009
This is incredibly good news and its about time it happened. hopefully it will not only affect the energy sector but possibly also have an impact on the infrastructural growth of the area. finally an opportunity to increase energy and in a more environmentally way