KenGen has set in motion plans to set up a 400 megawatts (MW) wind farm in Meru County, a phased project to be financed by a consortium of development financiers.
Two financiers – France’s Development Agency (AfD) and Germany’s Development Bank (KfW) – are in the country conducting a due diligence on the project. The site of the project is near the Meru-Isiolo border.
“The first phase of the project for a 50MW-100MW project will be financed by concessional funding which is low cost,” said Managing Director and CEO Albert Mugo. “We have developed internal capacity to implement the wind project. We see a lot of potential in wind power. It is likely to become a big thing in Kenya.”
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The Meru Wind Farm Project initial phase has a completion date of December 2017 and is expected to be among the largest wind farms in the country. Execution of the project will be undertaken by a team of qualified KenGen engineers. Last October, KenGen signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the County Government of Meru for the acquisition of land to develop 400MW of wind power.
Already, KenGen has put up wind masts which have been collecting data for about three (3) years now. A Feasibility Study Report developed two years ago indicates that there is enough wind resources to tap up to 400MW in phases from the area.
KenGen has a wind farm generating 25.5MW in Ngong, making it the only producer of wind energy in the country. The company is diversifying to cheaper sources of energy, starting with its key geothermal projects in an effort to reduce the more expensive diesel generated energy from the national power grid.
Meru County is said to have a geographical advantage of being between the flatter, drier and hotter Isiolo area and the hilly, wetter and cooler Mount Kenya region, causing a natural flow of wind that can be tapped to produce high capacity of wind power. The project’s site therefore sits in a wind corridor.
Wind generation currently constitutes 1% of total generation. This is expected to increase to 11% in line with the government’s strategy of 5000+ MW by the year 2018.
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