365 wind turbines will be built near Lake Turkana in northern Kenya and will provide the country with about 20 percent of its total electricity consumption when completed in 2017.

The wind farm will cover 162 square kilometers (40,000 acres). Built in an area where the wind speed average is eleven meters per second, every year. Known as the ’Turkana Corridorwind’, it is a low-level jet stream originating from the Indian Ocean and blows all year round.

It will be Africa’s largest wind farm and is a major part of Kenya’s long-term energy production goals. As the country is to add 5,000 MW of power to the national grid during the next three years.

Just as many other African countries, Kenya has been primarily dependent on fossil fuels and hydropower. But wind energy is expected to insulate the country’s power tariff by providing a low cost and consistent power source.

A consortium of investors under the commendation of the European Union is financing this $690 million project together with the African Development Bank as a lead arranger.

Africa’s energy landscape is rapidly changing. Today, more than two-thirds of the continent’s population is without electricity. But Africa is urbanizing fast and with urbanization, more people are given access to national electricity grids.

Africa is projected to become 56% urban by 2050.

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World Bank: Lake Turkana Wind Project
Lake Turkana Wind Project
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