Vestas has received an order for 365 V52-850 kW turbines for the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya. The order is the largest in Vestas’ history in terms of number of wind turbines in a single project.

The order was placed by Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd. and is expected to be Africa’s largest wind power plant when complete. The wind power plant will save Kenya approximately €150 million in fuel imports every year.

The order includes supply, installation, and commissioning of the wind turbines as well as a 15-year active output management service agreement. The logistically complex project is expected to be complete in 2017.

“We are very pleased to continue this great journey with Vestas as we progress toward our aim of reducing Kenya’s need for hydro and expensive fossil fuel-based power generation,” said Mugo Kibati, Chairman of Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd.

"We want to ensure that Kenya has access to low and consistent power prices, and with the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, we can do that," Kibati said.

With average wind speeds in excess of 11 m/s, the Lake Turkana project will add 310 MW of clean, reliable electricity capacity to the Kenyan national grid. The project will generate more than 1,400 GWh of power per year, equivalent to approximately 15 per cent of the country’s current electricity consumption.

Located approximately 1,200 km from the Kenyan port of Mombasa and requiring the building more than 420 km of transmission lines to reach the Kenyan national electricity grid, the Lake Turkana project is expected to become Africa’s largest wind farm upon completion.

(Renewable Energy Times)