Construction has begun on Africa’s largest wind power project, the €625 million Lake Turkana wind power (LTWP) development in Kenya. Mott MacDonald is lenders’ technical advisor on the project, which is also Kenya’s largest ever private investment.
Located on the south eastern shore of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya, the 310MW wind farm will comprise of 365 Vestas V52-850kW wind turbine generators. Ketraco, the Kenyan national grid company, is constructing a 450km transmission line connecting the outskirts of Nairobi to Loyangalani near the project site. This will enable future electrification of nearby rural areas where previously there was no electricity available.
Mott MacDonald is providing construction and operations monitoring of the wind farm and environment and social monitoring for the transmission line. Previously, the consultancy performed technical, environmental and social due diligence on behalf of the lenders during the project’s financing stage.
Matthias Vinard, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: “Once operational, LTWP will provide approximately 15% of total power generation in Kenya, equivalent to approximately 330,000 households.”
LTWP is expected to be completed early 2017.