November 17, 2021
Kenya

Tough lesson from wind farm land case

Tuesday November 02 2021 businessdailyafrica.com

Last week, the High Court in Meru nullified the title deed for the land on which the Lake Turkana Wind Power project sits after establishing that due process was not followed in setting apart the 150,000 acres of community land.

The company acquired a 33-year lease for the 150,000 acres to develop a 300MW wind power farm near Loyangalani.

The project is on a footprint of 87.5 acres which comprises among others, 365 wind power turbines and a power station with the rest of the acreages acting as a buffer zone for wind generation.

Now, some members of the community petitioned the High Court saying the project has led to the loss of rangeland, water sources and access.

The land is also central to their survival and livelihood as it is their cultural, ancestral and grazing land held under an intergenerational trust for future generations.

This case provides a good example of why investors and government officials get it wrong when setting up mega projects. Officials have the tendency to use their position and influence to acquire land for the way left of infrastructure projects when the government can simply lease it.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2021/11/17/tough-lesson-from-wind-farm-land-case/