With an eye on sustainable development, Kenya announced at the end of last year that it plans to move the country to 100 percent green energy by 2020.
Now the nation has officially launched Africa’s largest wind power farm in a bid to boost electricity generating capacity and bring the country to its ambitious renewables goal. The farm, known as the Lake Turkana Wind Power, will generate around 310 megawatts of power to the national grid and will increase the country’s electricity supply by 13 percent.
The 52-meter blade span windmills will take advantage of the Turkana corridor wind in the region – a low-level jet stream originating from the Indian Ocean and blowing all year round. An international consortium and producers, including the African Development Banks, came together to install the 365 wind turbines, which cost around $700 million – the largest private investment in Kenya’s history.
Currently, the country is a world leader in regards to clean energy investments, with around 70 percent of its national electricity coming from renewable sources like hydropower and geothermal.
