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.
Court stops Kinangop’s Sh15bn wind power plant
The multibillion-shilling wind power project in Kinangop has hit a dead end after the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru revoked its licences. The court also ordered that the petitioners be paid Sh2 million suit cost. Justice Sila Munyao on Thursday declared null and void the licences allowing establishment of the Sh15 billionwind power plant. Munyao said, however, his decision does not mean the court is against the project or mark the end of the key energy investment, which is . . . Complete story »
Kenyan wind power project cancelled due to land disputes
A $144 million Kenyan wind power project backed by a joint venture between Macquarie Group and Old Mutual Investment Group has been cancelled due to opposition from local landowners and farmers, developer Kinangop Wind Park said on Tuesday. Kinangop’s 60.8 megawatt (MW) project in Nyandarua County in central Kenya was due to come online by mid-2015 but progress was hobbled by disputes with residents over compensation for land. Last year, local farmers also opposed the project, saying they would be . . . Complete story »
Work on Sh15bn Kinangop wind power plant halted due to protests
Construction of a multi-billion wind power plant in Kinangop has been halted following a series of protests by surrounding communities. The Kinangop Wind Power Park was to provide 60.8 megawatts of wind electricity to the national grid at a cost of Sh15 billion, which was expected to boost consumption of renewable energy and consequently translate into cheap electricity. According to the proprietors, construction of the power plant has been prevented by protests from the community since May 2014, costing the . . . Complete story »
Sh15bn Kinangop wind park halted as land protests swirl
Construction of a Sh15 billion ($150 million) wind farm in Kinangop, Nyandarua has been frozen after running into strong headwinds tied to land acquisition. The proposed 61 megawatt Kinangop Wind Park, backed by Norwegian PE firm Norfund, South African asset manager Old Mutual and Sydney-based fund Macquarie, is on the verge of collapse after locals declined to offer their land for the project. “Development of the Kinangop Wind Park has been halted,” said James Wakaba, chief executive of KWP in . . . Complete story »
Parties seek to end Lake Turkana wind power project row
Land owners who want a Sh75 billion Lake Turkana wind power project halted and the company involved have been given three more months to seek a solution out of court. Meanwhile, the High Court in Meru, which is handling a case filed by the land owners, who are Marsabit residents, allowed Lake Turkana Wind Power Ltd to use 87.5 of the 150ha of the contested land until the matter is concluded. The court, which had on April 20 given the . . . Complete story »
Land dispute delays planned wind farm
The construction of a 400-megawatt wind power plant in Tigania West, Meru County, is likely to be delayed after some land owners said they have not given their consent for the project to start. The wind farm, which will be jointly constructed by the Meru County Government and power generating firm KenGen, will sit on about 18,700 acres of land whose ownership is contested. The land owners said although they were not opposed to the project, which is near the . . . Complete story »
Don’t incite residents against power project, Uhuru urges Marsabit leaders
President Kenyatta has appealed to leaders in Marsabit County not to incite residents against the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project. He urged the leaders to tackle any issues regarding the Kshs 70 billion project the largest single private investment in Kenyas history soberly and in an amicable manner. “This power project has the potential to transform this county. Let us all support it. If there are any issues, use dialogue to resolve them but let us not frustrate it, President . . . Complete story »
Gusts of opposition hit Kenyan wind farm project
A planned $144 million wind farm project in Central Kenya has run into opposition from farmers who fear being forced to sell their land and allege that the wind turbines could cause health problems. The Kenyan developers of the Kinangop Wind Park clean energy project say they will pay farmers for any land offered, and that no one will be required to sell their property. They say they have also adhered to international standards in planning the 16-square-kilometre project at . . . Complete story »
Kenya: roads to Kinangop wind project can be built, says Judge
The High Court in Nakuru has partially allowed construction of public roads leading to the construction site at the Kinangop wind energy. A group of farmers had sought to stop the project, saying that companies involved were using violence and blackmail to persuade farmers into selling their land for the project. Aeolus Kenya, Kinangop Wind Park, Kinangop Wind Park Leases and the National Land Commission are the respondents in the case. The Environment and Land Court judge Sila Munyao also . . . Complete story »
Wind powers “green” growth in Kenya, but for whom?
In many ways Kenya, a country that waged a successful liberation struggle against a ruthless and brutal colonial occupier, presents a similar trajectory to recent analysis of economic development in Vietnam, Morocco and Bolivia, in succumbing to the forces of globalized capital. With a patina of development as “green” and rhetorical flourishes in official documents toward notions of “sustainable development” and “community engagement,” in reality, decision-making has been taken out of the hands of local people at the behest of capital accumulation directed toward tourism, industrialized agricultural production for export, and electricity for the development of a “modern market-based” state and urban Kenyans. Meanwhile, for pastoral and rural Kenyans, the fight to control their own land, in their own interests, continues. Complete story »
