Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project has been awarded the Thomson Reuters Project Finance International (PFI) African Renewable Deal Award 2014 in recognition for its role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions when it displaces fossil-fuel-derived electricity.
The award was presented at the PFI awards dinner gala at The Hilton, Park Lane, London. It was received by the chairman of the LTWP project Mugo Kibati, a director Carlo Van Wageningen, and members of the entire project team. The LTWP project is the largest single wind power project to be constructed in Africa and also largest private investment in the history of Kenya. It is a key deliverable under the government’s commitment to scaling up electricity generation to 5,000MW and is a flagship project within the Vision 2030 programme.
The LTWP project will provide cost effective renewable power to Kenyans as the government tries to bring the cost of power down in a move to attract more investors who have been looking for alternative countries to pump their money into due to the high cost of electricity in the country.
The wind farm site, covering 40,000 acres (162 km2), is located in Loyangalani District, Marsabit West County, in north-eastern Kenya, approximately 50km north of South Horr Township. The project will comprise 365 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 850 kW, the associated overhead electric grid collection system and a high voltage substation.
LTWP also includes upgrading of the existing road from Laisamis to the wind farm site, which is partly financed by the Dutch Government and is a distance of approximately 204km. In addition, the project will build an access road network in and around the site for construction, operations and maintenance.
The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Ltd (Ketraco), with concessional funding from the Spanish government, is constructing a double circuit 400kV, 428km transmission line to deliver the LTWP electricity along with power from other future plants to the national grid.
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).
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