KenyagistCoffee Date That Inspired Ksh70B Uhuru Project

Coffee Date That Inspired Ksh70B Uhuru Project

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Just like many other inspiring and revolutionary ideas that shaped the world, the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project was conceived in a not-so-grand setting.

Valued at slightly above Ksh78 billion ($775million) as reported by Forbes Magazine, the wind power farm is the largest in Africa, dwarfing Morocco’s Ksh30 billion plant, with a capacity of 310MW as of July 2019.

In 2004, LTWP founder and one of the owners, Carlo Van Wageningen was enjoying a cup of coffee with his friend, Vuillem Dollem, at a Nairobi cafe when, interestingly, wind emerged as a topic of discussion.

“Dollem used to do sport fishing, and he was baffled by the amount of wind he was met with during the expeditions,” Wageningen is quoted by the publication. Out of this, they realised themselves at the centre of wind talk.

Lake Turkana Wind Power company founder Carlo Van Wageningen

Wageningen revealed that his friend Dollen was an enthusiast of wind energy noting that at the time, the 20 dollar (Ksh2,000)-a-barrel oil price was cheap and wind technology was still in the infantry, and therefore a lesser demand for alternative energy.

From 2004 oil prices rose, hitting 50 dollars (Ksh5,000)-a-barrel in 2005. This prompted Wageningen to strongly consider wind energy opportunity.

He managed to successfully sell the idea to two of his partners, Christopher Staubo and John Mwangi, who bought into the idea. The partners grew to six.

“I had little knowledge in wind energy but simply sensed it was a very good time to do it. I brought in partners and other entrepreneurs from the Netherlands who were mature in wind energy,” Waningen recounted.

When he identified the Lake Turkana region as the project’s establishment base, most of his partners lauded the idea, noting that it was impressive, vast, and with few people.

“We knew from an environmental point of view it would be easy,” he conceded.

The publication reported that Waningen and his partners kept the idea secret for two years, wary of investors with deeper pockets. They used this period to conduct in-depth research and prepare logistics. 

Lake Turkana Wind Power company founder Carlo Van Wageningen during the signing of the project financing agreement on March 24, 2014.
Lake Turkana Wind Power company founder Carlo Van Wageningen (Second Left) during the signing of the project financing agreement on March 24, 2014.

Their startup faced several hurdles. Turkana is semi-arid, had poor infrastructure with no roads, power, and access to water.

“It became clear that we would have to go large and spend really good money on constructing power lines… and roads to transport materials and turbines,” Waningen narrated.

However, the wind in Turkana was ideal, according to Waningen, even better than what was harnessed by the US and European wind farms.

The wind blows from the Indian Ocean towards the Ethiopian highlands. Part of it is siphoned by the low pressure into the Sahara desert causing it to flow through the Turkana corridor towards Sudan.

“When it hits the two mountains it’s compressed and creates a venturi effect that accelerates the wind. There’s no such phenomenon anywhere else in the world,” Wageningen informed.

However, the idea proved hard to sell to Kenyan investors, even private equity firms.

“We approached a number of local investor groups who basically said, ‘Thank you very much, but no thank you,’” Wageningen recalled.

With a required initial fund estimate of Ksh 680 million ($6.8 million), he first visited the Netherlands to try and woo in investors. He managed a Ksh 490 million ($4.9 million) seed capital from two prominent Dutch wind investors, who in turn convinced others to invest in the project. 

And this was the difference.

Lake Turkana Wind Power company founder Carlo Van Wageningen visit the project's site on November 19, 2015.  ​
Lake Turkana Wind Power company founder Carlo Van Wageningen (Left) visit the project’s site on November 19, 2015. ​

On July 19, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially inaugurated the wind farm.

The farm comprises 356 wind turbine generators, each with a capacity of 850kW for a total project installed capacity of 310MW. The project is connected to the national grid by the 438km Loiyangalani – Suswa transmission interconnector.

During the launch, President Kenyatta lauded the wind farm, a first in the region in terms of production capacity and investment

“Today, we again raise the bar for the continent as we unveil Africa’s single largest wind farm, the Lake Turkana Wind Power project,” President Kenyatta highlighted.

LTWP began injecting power into the national grid on 24 September 2018 and has since injected in the excess of 1,216,489,509kwh of clean, low cost, renewable energy into the Kenyan grid as indicated in the company website.

President Uhuru Kenyatta during the official inauguration of the 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project on July 19, 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta during the official inauguration of the 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project on July 19, 2019.

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