It is located in Loiyangalani District, in Marsabit County, approximately 545 kilometres (339 mi) by road north of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city.
The wind farm covers 160 square kilometres (40,000 acres) and has a capacity of 310 MW, enough to supply one million homes.
[1] The wind farm is located approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi), north of the town of South Horr, in Loyiangalani sub-county, in the extreme western part of Marsabit County, in the former Eastern Province.
[9] The tribes that communally use land in this area include El Molo, Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and other indigenous and pastoralist communities in the South-East of Marsabit County.
[10] LTWP was created in 2006 out of the partnering of Anset Africa Limited (a company involved in project development and management in the areas of tourism, biogas energy, telecommunications, solid waste management, and road construction) and KP&P (a company that develops and operates wind energy projects).
[13] In March 2016, the first shipment of 30 wind turbines arrived in the country, in anticipation of the first 50 MW coming online in September 2016.
[19][20][21] The power generated from the wind turbines will be transmitted via 33 kV overhead electric wires to a substation which will be located on the premises.
As part of the development, the road from Laisamis to the project site, a distance of approximately 195 kilometres (121 mi),[23] is slated to be upgraded.
[37] From the project perspective, the withdrawal of the World Bank could be seen in a positive light as it allowed LTWP to move forward to financial close.
[29] A source at power transmission firm Ketraco indicated that the agency was happy with the World Bank’s decision to quit.
[38] It is estimated that Kenya will save up to US$120 million a year in fuel cost by reducing reliance on diesel power plants.
"[39] Furthermore, the Kenyan Government has signed guarantees with LTWP to cover costs in case Kenya Power cannot afford to pay for excess electricity for the duration of the PPA.
[40] The Kenyan Government is also liable for losses incurred by delay due to political causes or project failure,[35] as happened with the power line.
Before the power station opened, some feared that this could result in higher prices for electricity users than previous rates.
[42] The LTWP project is of such a large scale that it will provide up to 20% of the Kenyan power grid’s capacity to absorb wind energy.
[43][44] It is generally accepted in wind technology research that intermittent resources can destabilise a small grid such as that in Kenya, especially if it is concentrated all in one location.
Kenya also plans to change the energy generation mix, with a view of reducing dependency on hydro and thermal.
In their Declaration of 7th February 2015 the SIPLF stated the "El Molo, Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and other indigenous and pastoralist communities of Laisamis Constituency and Karare Ward, in Marsabit County, Northern Kenya, reject the illegal privatization of 610 square kilometres (150,000 acres) of our ancestral land by the European consortium 'Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited'".
[48] The SIPLF stated they were not against wind farm development, if they own and lead the business: "We are determined to make this happen on the basis of our communities' ownership and leadership.
However, this part of Northern Kenya lacks enough people to provide the labour so LTWP will need to employ most of these workers from outside the local area.
[11] According to the ESIA, there are a number of potential negative local impacts due to the arrival of the 2,500 workers and the construction work in general.
[52] Following negotiations, in September 2017, the government of Kenya agreed to pay the developers of Lake Turkana Wind Power station, a total of KSh5.7 billion (approx.
[54] In March 2023, Afrk21.africa reported that the shareholding in the project, previously owned by Finnish Fund for Industrial Cooperation (Finnfund) had been sold to Climate Finance Partnership (CFP), that is managed by BlackRock Alternatives.