Lake Turkana wind farm

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Lake Turkana wind farm
Lake Turkana wind farm (2016)
Lake Turkana wind farm (2016)
location
Lake Turkana wind farm (Kenya)
Lake Turkana wind farm
Coordinates 2 ° 36 '0 "  N , 36 ° 54' 0"  E Coordinates: 2 ° 36 '0 "  N , 36 ° 54' 0"  E
country Kenya
Data
Type Wind farm
Primary energy Wind energy
power 310 MW
Project start 2014 (start of construction)
turbine 365 × Vestas V52-850
Energy fed in (normal energy capacity) approx. 2000 GWh
Website www.ltwp.co.ke
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Lake Turkana wind farm is the largest wind farm in sub-Saharan Africa and is located in northern Kenya . It originated on an area of ​​land that begins on the southeastern shore of Lake Turkana and ends between Mt. Kulal and Mt. Nyiru. It is supported by the Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd. consortium. operates and uses systems from the Danish turbine manufacturer Vestas .

Due to the special wind conditions on site, an extraordinarily high capacity factor of over 70% has been achieved since commissioning in September 2018 . The annual standard work capacity is given as almost 2000 GWh . The wind farm is supposed to cover around 15% of Kenya's daily electricity needs and theoretically supply around 1.5 million households.

Infrastructure and technology

365 wind turbines of the type Vestas V52-850 with a total output of 310 MW were constructed. Mathematically, this corresponds to around 20% of the current installed power plant capacity in Kenya. The original plan was to install V90 turbines with 2 MW each instead of the V52 turbines. Due to the difficult conditions, however, it appeared that safe transport of these turbines was not feasible.

The location has exceptionally high average wind speeds of 11.1 m / s, which is higher than at most offshore locations . Therefore, the energy yield at the location is above average, the capacity factor should be 68%. This is made possible by the “Turkana corridor wind”, a pressure gradient between the Indian Ocean and the Sahara, which ensures consistently good wind conditions.

As with other systems, the connection of the power plant to the Kenyan power grid caused major problems. There was no line infrastructure at the location and lines had to be re-laid.

financing

623 million euros were required to finance the project, making the wind farm the largest private investment in Kenya's history. A transmission line 428 km long was necessary to connect to the power grid .

The World Bank withdrew from funding the project in 2012. On March 24, 2014, contracts for the provision of debt capital were signed with the African Development Bank (AfDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Standard Bank of South Africa , the Nedbank, FMO, Proparco, the East African Development Bank, the PTA Bank, EKF, Triodos and DEG signed and secured the financing for the approximately 900 million dollar project.

In October 2015 it was announced that Google will take over the 12.5% ​​stake from Vestas after completion, which is planned for 2017.

construction

Construction began in July 2015. The 154th wind turbine was installed in October 2016. The last wind turbine was erected at the beginning of March 2017. The first wind turbines fed electricity into the grid in September 2018 after there had previously been problems with the grid connection.

business

In the first 20 years of operation, the price for the generated wind power is fixed at 8.53 KES / kWh and will drop to 7.68 KES after this period has expired. However, there is no guarantee that the farm will be operated for more than 20 years. Between 375 and 500 people are required and employed to operate the wind farm. Operating the wind farm is expected to save US $ 140 million in diesel by November 2019.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Africa's largest sub-Saharan wind farm: Lake Turkana starts producing electricity. Retrieved March 11, 2019 .
  2. ↑ a b c Lake Turkana Wind Power: FAQ. In: https://ltwp.co.ke/ . Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd, 2018, accessed May 5, 2019 .
  3. ↑ The Lake Turkana Wind Farm Project . DEWI website. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ a b Technology: How a huge wind farm in Kenya could transform Africa's energy landscape . In: EE-News , October 11, 2016, accessed on October 14, 2016.
  5. ↑ FMO Bank, FMO invests in Lake Turkana wind project in Kenya ( Memento from May 4, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), March 31, 2014
  6. ^ National Geographic, Wild Winds - Lake Turkana Wind Power aims to create electricity for Kenya , April 4, 2012
  7. ↑ a b Start of construction for the "most efficient" wind farm in the world . In: Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag , July 6, 2015, accessed on July 7, 2015.
  8. ↑ Lake Turkana Wind Farm, Overview
  9. ^ Business Daily, Kenya Power's deal that forced World Bank out of wind farm , October 21, 2012
  10. ↑ European Investment Bank, Europe supports the largest wind power project in sub-Saharan Africa ( Memento from March 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), March 24, 2014
  11. ↑ Lake Turkana Windfarm Lake Turkana Wind Power Signs Financing Documents with African Development Bank and Other Lenders ( Memento of February 4, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  12. ↑ Current trends from Kenya . Germany Trade & Invest. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
  13. ↑ Vestas CompanyNews: Google to buy Vestas' shares in Lake Turkana Wind Power , October 20, 2015 (English)
  14. ^ Final turbine installed at Lake Turkana . In: Windpower Monthly , March 8, 2017, accessed March 8, 2017
  15. ^ First power at Lake Turkana . In: Windpower Monthly , September 26, 2018, accessed on September 26, 2018