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Wind Power News: Kenya
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Kenya Power billed for idle wind farm
The developers of Lake Turkana Wind Power project have started billing Kenya Power every month for its failure to distribute their production due to lack of a transmission line. This is despite recent discussions between Energy ministry officials and the wind farm managers to delay the billing that would ultimately be passed on to consumers. “They have been billing Kenya Power,” said an energy sector source who sought anonymity, adding that the government could be absorbing a Sh700 million monthly . . . Complete story »
Lake Turkana Wind Power land case on after talks collapse
A land dispute between the Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd and Marsabit residents is set for full hearing after out-of-court negotiations collapsed. Laisamis residents have accused the firm of acquiring 150,000 acres of their ancestral land for the project without following due process. The matter will come up for hearing today for the parties to file submissions. On November 9, the High Court sitting in Meru declined to stop the Sh75 billion Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Marsabit and . . . Complete story »
Wind farms in the way of vultures
Since 2015, four of the eight species of vultures found in Kenya have been listed as critically endangered by the International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This means they are one step short of becoming extinct. High on the cliffs of Kwenia, 95km south of Nairobi, lives a colony of one of the Ruppell’s vulture. The estimated global population of Ruppell’s vulture is 22,000. “Ruppell’s vultures breed in steep cliffs,” said Dr Darcy Ogada of The Peregrine Fund, a . . . Complete story »
Kiserian wind turbine blades to destroy birds
A proposed wind power project in Kiserian, Kajiado county, has run into trouble after conservationists rejected it, saying it could wipe out migratory birds. BirdLife International, Nature Kenya, Kenya Bird of Prey Trust and the Peregrine Fund say the project threatens critically endangered bird species. In a statement on Tuesday last week, they said the project is close to the nesting sites of two species of endangered vultures and an important flyway for a huge number of migratory birds. “Just . . . Complete story »
Kipeto Wind Energy Project could wipe out critically endangered birds
BirdLife International, Nature Kenya, Kenya Bird of Prey Trust and The Peregrine Fund have collectively expressed concern over a proposal to develop the Kipeto Wind Energy Project, in Kajiado County, Kenya. This is due to the fact that the proposed wind farm will be in close proximity to the nesting sites of two species of Critically Endangered vultures and also close to an important flyway for a vast numbers of migratory birds. Just 14 km from Kwenia cliffs – the . . . Complete story »
Appeal Court upholds ruling halting Sh71b Marsabit power project
An ambitious plan by the Government to add 300MW wind power and 50MW solar power to the national grid may not happen any time soon. This is after the Court of Appeal upheld a decision by the High Court to halt the $690 million (Sh71 billion) project that would have helped the country tap green energy resources in Northern Kenya. Court of Appeal judges Salkale Ole Kantai, Hannah Okwengu and Erastus Githinji, in separate judgements, were unanimous that High Court . . . Complete story »
Lake Turkana wind farm may face court battle over land issues
The High Court in Meru, Kenya, last week rejected a request to stop the development of the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) project but restricted construction activities to 87,500 acres of the total 150,000 acres plot on which it is sited. Residents of the Laisamis constituency in the Marsabit County, where the project is located, claim the project had acquired 150,000 acres of their ancestral land without following due procedures. Justice Peter Njoroge of the Environment and Land Court last . . . Complete story »
Kinangop Wind Park placed under receivership after pulling plug on Ksh15B project
Kinganop Wind Park limited (KWP) has been placed under receivership, two months after it pulled the plug on a Sh15 billion shillings wind power project. Messrs Muniu and Kuria Muchiru from PwC have been appointed as the receiver managers of the firm seizing all operations and assets of the firm. “Additionally, the powers and authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the company or commit the company in any way rests with the receivers,” the receiver managers said in . . . Complete story »
Mpeketoni wind power project faced with compensation row
A compensation row has emerged between farmers at the proposed 90 MW wind power project in Mpeketoni where farmers and area leaders are opposing the move to award Ken Wind Holdings a 3,200 acre farm. The residents are saying that they would only support the project if a proper compensation and resettlement plan is provided for the 259 families living in the area. Speaking in Bahari Ward at the proposed site in Lamu West Constituency, Lamu West Member of Parliament Julius . . . Complete story »
End of row as lands team approves power project
The National Lands Commission has approved a Sh21 billion wind power project, putting to rest a standoff between squatters and the investor. National Lands Commission (NLC) Chair Muhammad Swazuri said stringent compensation demands from the locals has delayed the project, adding that the commission has conducted an evaluation and agreed with the investor to pay Sh100 million as compensation. NLC was forced to hold a consultative meeting between the investor and Waitemere squatters on the land following a four-year standoff . . . Complete story »
