What better time to write a blog about this massive project other than the a day after the last turbine is installed. To all who have been a part of it, this is a day they will remember for years to come. The Lake Turkana Wind Power project located in Sarima, Loiyangalani sub county, Marsabit county. It is at the south east tip of Lake Turkana also known as the Jade sea and to most historians as Lake Rudolf.
When fully complete and commissioned, it will boast of a total of 310 Megawatts of power injecting about 15% of the countries total generated grid capacity. This energy will be clean renewable energy that will see the country cut down carbon emissions by a huge margin. It will have a total of 365 wind turbines and a transmission line that will traverse over 400 Km from Sarima to Suswa substation located off the Maimahiu- Narok road. It is going to be the largest single installation phase in Africa and right up there with the contenders of most turbines installed in a single project world wide.
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| Charles Brush's windmill of 1888, used for generating electricity (Source Wikipedia). |
Let alone the pioneers of harnessing wind energy, my very own country men and women would find it hard to believe the kind of massive undertaking this project has been. From the tales of its founding father's who had their tents blown away whenever they pitched them that birthed the idea of generating power from the wind, to the struggle and painstaking process of formulating this great idea, to selling it to a Nation ambitious to develop yet grappled with stumbling blocks like corruption and even some who thought the idea ludicrous , to the complex political landscape at the grassroots and the challenges that come with diverse and unique communities in the area each wanting to have the larger share of the pie. It is indeed a journey that few can tell you its A-Z but one whose lessons can build a base to teach generations to come and future projects of its caliber and beyond.
It is truly a unique project as it brought together not only communities from around the site, but people from every part of the country, beyond its borders to the continent itself and even beyond to the world as a whole. Ironically or should I say coincidentally these people from all walks of life have resided in a village truly unique of its kind as if to concur with the statement, "the world is a global village".
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| LTWP village(One of the camp sites that was home to several personnel working on the project) |
To put things in perspective, allow me to take you through a typical journey of one of the turbines that now stands in the semi arid land of Sarima in Marsabit county.
Standing shy of 50 meters basking in the scorching sun and strong winds up in the Northern wind corridor in Kenya is this .85 megawatt producing state of the art v52 wind turbine. It has 364 like itself to keep it company and once operational will swing and rotate to the tune of the wind as it blows over its massive blades.
They call them the "babies" in the turbine world because there are some that tower over twice their height. Take nothing away from them though, they are still as gigantic as they get.
They journey began from the idea of the founding fathers of the project to tap this natural resource of wind to generate power, to the brains of those who designed the turbines suitable for the conditions at the location of the site, to the factories in China where they are moulded and fabricated. They then journey for many a day through the high seas carried on massive cargo ships and eventually land ashore the coastal city of Mombasa.
There, their journey begins heading North slightly over 1,000 Km with the last 200 Km being on gravel road which was entirely constructed and maintained by the project for purposes of transportation of components.
This journey had to be done at snails pace due to their delicate nature. Meticulous planning and tight security has seen a total of over 1,100 trips done without any major incident. A truly remarkable fete all factors considered.
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| Turbines components being offloaded from second shipment vessel from China (Photo credit: Huzefa Amirali) |
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| Components on transit just arriving at the wind farm site |
Once on site, they were offloaded onto hard stands prepared for each of the turbines.
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| Tower section being offloaded onto hard stand |
There the preparation teams worked on ensuring the components i.e the two tower sections, the nacelle and the rotor blade set were ready for installation. Steadily the installation teams took on a daring task of hoisting the turbine and bolting different sections together. They always had to monitor wind speeds and wait for a window when it was relatively calm before beginning the process. The targeted average was one turbine per day.
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| First turbine erected in mid March 2016 |
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| Among the last turbines installed in March 2017 |
Up they went one by one, from the first one that was completed on a very early morning in March of 2016 to the last but not least of the lot that was installed exactly a year later on a relatively calm evening in March of 2017. As dawn signifies the start of a day, so does the installation at dawn that was the first turbine to be fully erected signified the start of the installation of the turbines. The last one to go up was completed on a sunny calm Sunday evening in the witness of tens of construction and installation teams who were filled with excitement to finally see the completion of the installation phase.
Some see this as the end of things but the reality is that, it is just but the beginning of a new chapter, a new phase. The operation and maintenance of the wind farm. As the curtains closes on the installation phase of one of the countries greatest projects post independence, it promises a future of clean sustainable and cheap power. It has opened up the doors for other projects of its kind to take off.
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| Part of the installation team |
Some see this as the end of things but the reality is that, it is just but the beginning of a new chapter, a new phase. The operation and maintenance of the wind farm. As the curtains closes on the installation phase of one of the countries greatest projects post independence, it promises a future of clean sustainable and cheap power. It has opened up the doors for other projects of its kind to take off.
From click@yambo photography, thank you for dropping by. Please leave a comment or two in the comments section or join and be a part of the story and tell the world what your experience has been with this project.
