Kenya to Develop 1GW Wind Farm

  • The French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement) is closely interested in the 1GW wind farm project.
  • Around 92 per cent of Kenya’s electricity supply and 74 per cent of its overall energy use is powered by renewables.

Green power leader Kenya plans to develop a gigawatt-scale wind farm that would be the largest in Africa. The country’s state-run Kenya Electricity Generating Co confirmed to Bloomberg last week that it is seeking debt financing to cover 75 per cent of the project costs. However, it did not confirm the costs and said that estimates would be available once it approves and confirms the capacity for each phase.

The project will be based near the 310 megawatt (MW) Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in remote northern Kenya, the largest wind farm in Africa. The wind farm would connect to the Kenyan grid in 2028. The French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement) separately confirmed to Bloomberg that it is taking a close interest in the project. If realised, the project would further bolster Kenya’s reputation as a green power leader globally. Around 92 per cent of its electricity supply and 74 per cent of its overall energy use is powered by renewables.

Egypt has also commenced plans to develop larger wind farm projects. In August, the Egyptian government designated land for a 3 gigawatt (GW) onshore wind project that will be delivered by an international consortium featuring French multinational Engie.

UAE green energy developer Masdar and partners have concluded plans for a behemoth 10GW onshore wind farm in Egypt that would be one of the biggest in the world. Masdar chair, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, who is also the UAE’s Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and holds the presidency for the upcoming COP28 in the country, recently announced his country is pledging $4.5bn of investment into Africa to help it “jumpstart” renewable energy development and add 15GW of clean power by 2030.

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