Lake Turkana Wind Power Project - Kenya

PROJECT:     LAKE TURKANA WIND POWER STATION
CAPACITY:     310 MW (2012)
LOCATION:     SOUTHEASTERN END OF LAKE TURKANA
DUE DATE:    JULY 2010 FULL CAPACITY JULY 2010
TURBINE TECHNOLOGY: VESTAS V-52 850 KW WIND TURBINE

PROJECT SUMMARY
The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project consists of 3 major units.
   310 MW wind farm at Lake Turkana.
   Lake Turkana to Suswa 428 km transmission line.
   Road adjustments, upgrades and construction.

Lake Turkana Wind Power consortium (LTWP) is poised to provide 300 MW of clean power to Kenya's national electricity grid by taking advantage of a unique wind resource in Northwest Kenya near Lake Turkana. Using the latest wind turbine technology LTWP can provide reliable and continuous clean power to satisfy up to 30% of Kenya's current total installed power.
LTWP will construct a "wind farm" consisting of 353 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 KW. The total foreseen power generated by the initial phase of this wind farm is expected to start production in June 2011 and reach full production of 300 MW by July 2012, adding 30% or more to the total existing installed capacity available in Kenya. Wind turbine technology has seen recent rapid improvement with the development of turbines such as the Vestas V52 that is the design standard selected by LTWP.

The Lake Turkana Wind Farm
The Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project envisions the construction of a 310
Megawatt (MW) wind power plant in Laisamis / Marsabit District, North-Eastern ProvinceKenya.The project site is located at the southeastern end of Lake Turkana, southwestofMt.Kulal and south of the town of Loiyangalani. The project concession area coversapproximately 150 square km (66,000 ha), which has been leased from the Marsabit County Council for 99 years. The average monthly wind speed is 11 m/sec, which is one of the highest averages recorded globally.The wind park will consist of 365 turbines each with a capacity of 850 kilowatts (kW).Each turbine, mounted on a tower, will be powered by a three-bladed rotor. In addition to the wind turbines, a sub-station and staff accommodation will be built. Access to the park will not be fenced off or restricted. The wind farm will add approximately 25% to the existing power capacity of Kenya. The Lake Turkana wind farm is projected to produce 1,440 Gigawatt hours (GWh) of
electricity per year, enough to power approximately two million Kenyan households.The wind farm is a first of-a-kind project in Kenya. The expected lifespan of the project is 25-30 years. The wind farm will be owned and operated by LTWP.

The Lake Turkana to Suswa Transmission Line
A 428 km 400 kilovolt (kV) transmission is planned to transport the power generated
from the wind farm to the national grid at Suswa (near Longonot), via Baragoi, South
Horr, Marti, Morijo, Longewan, Rumuruti and Olkalau. The transmission line will be
accessed from the South Horr, Baragoi, Malaral, Rumuruti, Nyahururu, Gilgil and Narok
main road. A power transmission substation will be built at the Loiyangalani project site and new terminal substation will be constructed at Suswa to connect to Olkaria for grid-feed in.
The type of transmission line tower(s) has yet to be decided. It is likely that a tower will
be installed every 2-4 km, at a height of 30-40 m. An 8 m servitude width will be
required for the transmission line (55 m width at each tower).
The transmission line and associated substations will be built and initially owned by
LTWP, with ownership to be transferred to the Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC)
at an agreed upon date.The electricity generated will be purchased by KPLC and distributed to consumers in Kenya.


Source: www.carbonafrica.co.ke
     www.laketurkanawindpower.com