Wind Energy in Kenya
Wind energy in Kenya has been used primarily for water lifting since the beginning of the 19th century. its use, however, declined with the advent of oil-driven combustion engines.
With the rising cost of oil, exploitation of wind energy has become more attractive, particularly in areas far from the grid and oil supply outlets.
To promote investment in wind energy, the ministry has prepared a National Wind Atlas. In addition, the Government of Kenya is promoting wind-diesel hybrid systems for a generation under the rural electrification program.
In the meantime, 550 kilowatts are installed in Ngong and Marsabit, generating about 0.4 gig watt hours (GWh). The viability of wind power generation is site-specific and depends on the speed of the wind, which can reduce the amount of oil used in fuel-fired generators. It also helps to conserve water at hydro-power stations. Wind power in Kenya: Kenya is ranked fifth in the world and first in Africa in wind power generation.
The ministry has prepared a national wind atlas mapping this potential and has also published a feed-in tariff, guaranteeing investors the minimum tariff they can charge the off-taker, the Kenya Power Company. The Wind Energy Resource Atlas of Kenya gives indicative information about the wind potential in various parts of Kenya.
The Atlas provides broad information on a national scale. Detailed feasibility studies are required for each site since wind energy resource potential is site-specific.
Substantial investments are required for detailed studies to establish the financial viability of wind power generation at promising sites, taking into account the special characteristics of wind energy, which unlike hydropower, cannot be stored.
Currently, 550 kilowatts are installed at Ngong and Marsabit. A major 300MW wind project is underway in the Lake Turkana region.
Wind Energy in Kenya Sites
In general, there are few sites in the country. In the feasibility study, areas recommended for investment include Ngong, Lake Turkana, Marsabit, Kinangop and Malindi.
Kenya uses wind power from KenGen’s 400 KW wind turbines at Ngong and Marsabit. KenGen is installing 5 MW at Ngong.
Ngong Power Station, 25MW
Ngong’ Power Station is the only wind farm that is connected to the national grid. The farm on the northern part of the Ngong’ Hills, near Kenya’s capital, Nairobi has a capacity of 25.5MW.
The company intends to increase its installed capacity for wind energy at the northern part of the Ngong’ Hills from the current 5.1MW to 25.5MW.
The farm began with two wind turbines commissioned in 1993 as a donation from the Belgian Government. However, the two turbines have since been retired.
The second phase of the Ngong wind farm was commissioned in August 2009 and has a capacity of 5.1 MW of power.
Work on the wind farm, which consists of six (6) Vestas V52-850kW Wind Turbines, began in May 2008.
The northern part of the Ngong’ hills was chosen as the project site because KenGen had for a period of 14 years observed a favorable wind regime as measured by two experimental wind turbines which were installed on the hill in the early 1990s. This data was further supplemented by measurements taken from the site between August 2006 and August 2007.
A feasibility analysis conducted using this data confirmed that the Ngong site was capable of generating up to up to 14.9GWh of energy per year on average from a 5.1MW wind farm.
Wind Power in Kenya
Kenya’s wind installed capacity is 5.1 MW, operated by KenGen at the Ngong site. High capital cost and lack of sufficient wind regime data are some of the barriers affecting the exploitation of wind energy resources. Moreover, potential areas for wind energy generation are far away from the grid and load-centers, requiring high capital investment for the transmission lines.
The Ministry of Energy developed the Wind Atlas in 2003 to provide investors with indicative data on the strength and location of wind resources in Kenya. To augment the information contained in the Wind Atlas, the Ministry, with the assistance of Development Partners, is installing 53 Wind Masts and Data Loggers to collect site-specific data.
The low exploitation level of the resource prompted the Government to develop the Feed-in Tariffs (FiT) Policy which provides for a tariff not exceeding US Cents 11.0 per Kilowatt-hour of electrical energy supplied in bulk to the grid for wind generated electricity.
Wind Energy in Kenya
There are high wind speeds in various parts of northern Kenya and other arid lands. Preliminary wind resource assessments show that wind regimes in certain parts of Kenya (such as Marsabit, Ngong and the Coastal region) can support commercial electricity generation as they enjoy wind speeds ranging from 8 to 14 meters per second (m/s). Specific areas that have been identified for wind power generation are Marsabit, Laisamis, Turkana and Samburu.
These areas have the potential to produce over 1,000 MW of wind power for sale to the national grid. This preliminary assessment has been used to develop a wind map for the whole country. To facilitate decision-making in wind power generation investment, the government is undertaking wind data logging in high potential areas of Kenya. However, detailed feasibility studies would be carried out to determine the viability of specific sites identified in the wind map. The Kenya Government would, therefore, like to invite the private sector to invest in wind power electricity generation.