Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) is a wind farm in Kenya. It is located in Loiyangalani District, in Marsabit County, approximately by road north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. This wind farm location benefits from a persistent wind phenomenon called the Turkana jet.

The wind farm covers and has a capacity of 310 MW, enough to supply one million homes. It comprises 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 kilowatts. The associated overhead electric grid distribution system and a high voltage substation that connect it to the national grid.

The KSh70 billion wind farm is the single largest private investment in Kenya’s history and the biggest farm in Africa. The power produced is bought at a fixed price by Kenya Power (KPLC) over a 20-year period in accordance with the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the latter. The project was completed in January 2017, however the line evacuating the power generated was not completed until July 2019.

Location The wind farm is located approximately , north of the town of South Horr, in Loyiangalani sub-county, in the extreme western part of Marsabit County, in the former Eastern Province. This location lies approximately , by road, west of Marsabit, where the county headquarters are located. The geographical coordinates of the wind farm are: 02°30'44.0"N, 36°49'00.0"E (Latitude:2.512222; Longitude:36.816667). The wind is strongest in the morning and in October, and weakest in the afternoon and in February, contrasting with Ngong Hills Wind Power Station.

Land rights The project is on trust land owned by local authorities, used by indigenous pastoralists. This means that all the land is held by the relevant local authority, ostensibly in trust for the local inhabitants. The tribes that communally use land in this area include El Molo, Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and other indigenous and pastoralist communities in the South-East of Marsabit County.

History

LTWP was created in 2006 out of the partnering of Anset Africa Limited (a company involved in project development and management in the areas of tourism, biogas energy, telecommunications, solid waste management, and road construction) and KP&P (a company that develops and operates wind energy projects). In 2005, discussions with the Kenyan government began regarding the development of a wind power project near to Lake Turkana and as a result, extensive wind assessments were conducted. Later in 2007 environmental fieldwork was undertaken. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between LTWP and Kenya Power on 10 April 2008. Land permits IR Number 6395/1 (L.R. 28031) and IR Number 6396/1 (L.R. 28031/2) were signed with the Kenyan government in March 2009, which caused problems when local communities only came to know the plans in April 2014. Construction began in October 2014 and was expected to be completed in June 2017. In March 2016, the first shipment of 30 wind turbines arrived in the country, in anticipation of the first 50 MW coming online in September 2016. At 9 March 2017, Lake Turkana Wind Power Station was ready to produce 33% of the targeted of 310 MW. At that time, all 365 wind turbines had been erected.

On 19 July 2019, Uhuru Kenyatta, the president of Kenya, officially commissioned the , 400kV Loiyangalani-Suswa High Voltage Power Line that transmits the generated power for integration into the national grid. At that time, the power station was averaging generation of 199 megawatts (64 percent of its installed capacity of 310.25 megawatts).

Specification The wind farm site, covers approximately . The farm has 365 turbines (type Vestas V52), each with capacity of 850 kW. The V52 had gone out of production, but was updated with nested towers for transport on the road from Mombasa port, of which are new gravel roads.

The power generated from the wind turbines will be transmitted via 33 kV overhead electric wires to a substation which will be located on the premises. From the substation, power will be transmitted via a 400 kV high voltage electric power lines to a substation in Suswa, approximately , south of Loyangalani, where it will be integrated into the national power grid. The electricity will be bought by Kenya Power at a fixed price for 20 years from the time of commissioning. As part of the development, the road from Laisamis to the project site, a distance of approximately , is slated to be upgraded. Construction began in 2015 and full operation is expected to commence in 2018. As of April 2015, construction had begun. The first 90 MW was expected online in October 2016 with full commissioning of the full 300 MW planned for July 2017.

Developers and funding The company that owns and is developing the wind farm is called Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited. The consortium which owns LTWP Limited includes the following entities:

Equity partners

In February 2020, it became public that Google Inc. would not become an investor in the project. Vestas, the Danish turbine supplier, which owns 12.5 percent of the holding company, said in Danish media that delays in completing the high voltage transmission line led to the cancellation of the transfer contract in 2019.

Financial partners The lead arranger for the US$853.12 million syndicated financing package is the African Development Bank, with Standard Bank and Nedbank Capital of South Africa as co-arrangers. The following have provided financing to the project.

Donors The following entities made outright donations to the project:

Government of the Netherlands – €10 million EU Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund (part of the European Commission) – €25 million

Transmission line and substation

In 2010, the Spanish government offered to finance the construction of a 427 km double circuit transmission line southwards from the site to Suswa, approximately 100 km west of Nairobi. The US$150 million offer comprises:

A 'concessional loan' of €55 million (US$74 million) at an interest of 0.10 percent, with a repayment period of 30 years, including a 14-year grace period. The loan will be supported by a 'Financial Co-operation Agreement' between Kenya’s Ministry of Finance and Spain’s Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade; €55 million in 'commercial credit' with support from the Spanish Export Credit Insurance Company on OECD terms; A 'sovereign guarantee' by the Kenyan Government.

This means that the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco), a Government-owned entity created in 2008, will also partly fund the transmission line and the substation by means of a tolling arrangement with Kenya Power. Spanish company Isolux Corsán won a US$208.1 million tender for this construction.

World Bank pulls out of project

LTWP suffered a setback in 2012 when the World Bank withdrew its support for the project. Bank officials were reported to have concerns that the electricity produced would outweigh demand. The World Bank Group’s country director in Kenya, Johannes Zutt, stated that Kenya could be left with excess power on the grid worth up to KSh8.5 billion (equivalent to US$100 million) per year. Originally, the project was expected to be fully operational by the end of 2014. From the project perspective, the withdrawal of the World Bank could be seen in a positive light as it allowed LTWP to move forward to financial close. A source at power transmission firm Ketraco indicated that the agency was happy with the World Bank’s decision to quit. "We are happy that the World Bank has withdrawn. They were putting a lot of hurdles in our way but now we can go ahead."

Economic impacts

LTWP will be the largest single private investment in Kenya at the time it is made. LTWP claims the wind farm will reduce and possibly eliminate Kenya's dependency on diesel and heavy fuel power stations, however, this claim is unsubstantiated. Fuel imports to power thermal power stations cost the Kenyan taxpayer KSh17 billion (US$150 million) annually. It is anticipated that the project will contribute KSh3 billion (US$35 million) annually in tax revenue and KSh58.6 billion (US$673 million) over a period 20 years. During construction, approximately 2,500 workers will be hired. Once commissioned, the power station will employ 200 full-time staff.

Impacts on Kenyan State and consumers

The project is of significant strategic benefit to Kenya, and at KSh70 billion (€625 million) will be the largest single private investment in Kenya’s history. With a power tariff of 7.52 Euro cents per kWh (KSH11/kWh), LTWP is one of the lowest power tariffs in Kenya along with geothermal power at KSh9. Other prices are KSh3 for hydro power and KSh18 for oil. It is estimated that Kenya will save up to US$120 million a year in fuel cost by reducing reliance on diesel power plants. LTWP’s contract (Power Purchase Agreement) with government-owned Kenya Power obliges the utility to buy all electricity produced by the wind farm, even if it is not needed, or if more economic electricity sources are available; "The power produced will be bought at a fixed price by Kenya Power (KPLC) over a 20-year period in accordance with the signed Power Purchase Agreement (PPA)."

Furthermore, the Kenyan Government has signed guarantees with LTWP to cover costs in case Kenya Power cannot afford to pay for excess electricity for the duration of the PPA. In order to mitigate this risk the African Development Fund has provided a 'partial risk guarantee' up to the value of €20 million. The Kenyan Government is also liable for losses incurred by delay due to political causes or project failure, as happened with the power line. These costs, as well as the expenses for the transmission line, are therefore likely to be passed on to Kenyan taxpayers and electricity consumers on top of the electricity produced. Before the power station opened, some feared that this could result in higher prices for electricity users than previous rates.

For the fiscal year of 2019, Kenya Power paid KSh11 billion to LTWP for 1.1 TWh.

Grid stability

The LTWP project is of such a large scale that it will provide up to 20% of the Kenyan power grid’s capacity to absorb wind energy.

It is generally accepted in wind technology research that intermittent resources can destabilise a small grid such as that in Kenya, especially if it is concentrated all in one location. Denmark has over 19% wind power (wind capacity of 4,885MW) connected to the grid, but this capacity is supplied across thousands of projects. While LTWP aims to provide 310 MW of reliable, low cost wind power to the Kenya national grid, equivalent to approximately 18% of Kenya’ current installed electricity generating capacity. As of 2018, Kenya had a total installed capacity of 2300 MW, largely being generated by hydro (46.3%) and thermal (37.4%). The Government targets to increase generating capacity to 6762 MW in 2017. Kenya also plans to change the energy generation mix, with a view of reducing dependency on hydro and thermal. LTWP will play a key role in balancing the energy generation mix.

In January 2021 Clir Renewables, a Canadian software company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, signed a contract with LTWP, to optimise power generation at the power station. The software company will analyse data from each of the 365 turbines at the power station. Fluctuations in wind speed at each turbine will be detected and mapped. Causes of underperformance at each turbine will be identified and solutions suggested. The overall objective is to improve the efficiency of the power plant and improve power output and grid stability.

Controversies

Indigenous rights issues

LTWP commenced its community engagement activities in 2005, nine years before construction started in October 2014.