Mwaniki Wahome
2 July 2009
Nairobi — Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) will inject 11 mega watts (MW) of electricity into the national grid from its Ngong wind power project in September.
This is a shift from reliance on hydro-power, which has been erratic due to unpredictable rainfall patterns.
Last week, Masinga dam, the uppermost dam in the seven forks, cascade closed down after water levels went below 1036 metres above sea level, making production impossible.
Speaking during a visit to the site on Thursday in Ngong, senior projects engineer Hezron Ng'iela, said the first phase of the wind project will provide 5.1MW.
The second phase is expected to provide another 5.9 MW. "The wind farm is expected to be operational by September and is on schedule," he said.
Electricity produced from the farm will be able to provide up to 1000 homes with adequate power.
During this year's budget, finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta announced tax waivers for the private sector that will produce power from these sources.
The project is being undertaken by a Belgium contractor, TPF Econoler SA, and is partly financed through a loan provided by its government.
"The loan is 10 million euros, which is on-lent to KenGen at 1.5 per cent and is repayable in 14-and-a-half years," Mr Ng'iela said.
He said KenGen will also use some internal funds for the project.
He added that the construction, which commenced in February 2009 and so far has five turbines, has been completed out of six that constitute the first phase.
He said construction of the 11 KV transmission line by Kenya Power& Lighting Company was completed in June.
Kenya has been grappling with rising demand for power averaging 8 per cent a year, which has put strain of the national grid, resulting to use of fuel generated electricity which is more expensive.
The current installed capacity in the country is 1,296 MW with an effective capacity of 1,204 MW. The current system peak demand is 1,071MW and annual energy demand is about 6,500 GWh.
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