Energy Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter has announced that the Lake Turkana Wind Power project will be launched in December this year.
Keter said the injection of the renewable energy from the Turkana Wind Power project and additional 55MW from Garissa solar power will reduce the cost of power in the country.
“With the rise of the price of fuel you would automatically expect to see the Fuel Cost Charge going up but with the injection of power from this line which is roughly 350MW it means from the current 700MW diesel power use we will hardly be running on 200MW of diesel,” said Keter.
The Energy Cabinet Secretary said Kenyans will fully enjoy the benefits of the power line and the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in December this year when the project will be fully operational.
The power transmission line will also enhance communication in Northern Kenya as it carries a fibre optic cable for the entire length of the line.
The Loiyangalani-Suswa power transmission line, the largest wind power project in Africa, has been handed over to Kenya Electricity Transmission Company Limited (KETRACO).
Energy Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge disclosed that the power line can transmit up to 1,200MW.
“Because of foresight we did not construct a line for only 310MW, one line should be able to do up to 600MW which means the two can do 1,200MW,” said Njoroge.
The largest wind farm in Africa is expected to ease electricity costs that rose by 57 per cent in August when the Energy Regulatory Authority reviewed tariffs.
The 266-mile (428km), 400-kilovolt power line is critical to evacuate electricity from the Lake Turkana Wind Power plant in Loyangalani to Suswa at the centre of the country.
The Sh70 billion project was financed by various lenders with the Africa Deveopment Bank playing the lead. It was due for commissioning last December but was delayed by Kenya’s slow speed in construction of a power line to evacuate electricity from Marsabit to Suswa.
