In a bid to combat the country's growing demand for power whilst still standing firm in the battle against global warming, Kenya has announced that it is to create the largest wind-farm on the continent. 365 giant wind turbines are to be constructed around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya at a cost of over GBP £533m. When completed in 2012, farm will be capable of producing 300MW making the wind-farm of the largest producers of national grid-fed wind energy anywhere in the world.
The scheme, currently titled the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project is being funded by a Dutch consortium and it has already leased 66,000 hectares of land for the farm's construction. Situated next to the world's largest desert lake, the farm will be fed by winds that blow consistently all year round by hot winds being channeled between the Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands. A second wind-farm has been proposed, to be constructed near the tourist town of Naivasha.
Kenya is already a leader of renewable energy with three quarters of the country's energy coming from hydro-power and a further 11percent coming from geothermal sources. Until now, only Morocco and Egypt had implemented wind energy projects on any significant scale, but now demand is booming as governments on the continent realise the benefits of both solar and wind projects to meet the ever growing energy demand. A week ago, Germany unveiled plans to develop a 400 billion euro solar park in the Sahara desert.
1 comment:
There are already ongoing projects including the Gibe 3 Dam to generate electricity. Hope these project do not violate the livings of the people near its vicinity.
Lake turkana kenya
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