Construction of the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Farm nears completion . However , there will be no time for celebration as Lake Turkana Wind Power plans to provide clean , low cost energy to Kenya for the next 20 years
After nine long years of negotiation and preparation , 2.5 years of construction ( including the installation of 365 wind turbines ), the end of the incredible Lake Turkana Wind farm journey is just over the horizon .
In June 2017 , the 310 MW capacity Lake Turkana Wind farm will be ready for full commercial production . The goal ? Providing the whole of Kenya with low cost wind power ( to the national grid equivalent ) to around 16 percent of the country ’ s current installed electricity generating capacity . All over the next 20 years .
A moment of celebration surely , as the single largest private investment in Kenya ’ s history , but for Phylip Leferink , General Manager , and everyone involved in the project , the end of this journey is really only the beginning .
“ When we finish and Lake Turkana is online of course there will be some celebration , but we enter a new phase . Construction work may be over , but the work really is just beginning as we need to operate it over the next 20 years .”
Everything has a beginning Leferink has been involved in the project from the very start , working in a sales director role with Vestas , the turbine manufacturer that has provided all of the turbines for the project , as well as operating in a joint venture ( JV ) capacity .
“ When construction started in late 2014 , it soon became apparent that Lake Turkana Wind Power needed some additional experience , someone
48 June 2017