Kenya plans to develop wind power

The Kenyan government and power companies have stated one after another that they plan to adopt various measures to increase the development of wind power to cope with the shortage of electricity caused by the rise in crude oil prices.

Kenila Mulenghi, Minister of Energy, said that the Ministry of Energy plans to erect 33 observation devices such as anemometers at the end of this year to increase the collection of wind resources information and provide assistance to investors interested in joining wind power projects.

At the same time, Kenya’s largest power company, the Kenya Power Generation Company, also stated that it plans to increase the installed capacity of wind power generation to at least 100 MW by 2015. The company said that with the improvement of the international economic situation, more and more banks started project financing business and injected vitality into the construction of power facilities. They have signed a 2 billion Kenyan shilling (about US$25 million) concessional loan project with the Spanish government for the development of a 13.6 MW wind power plant.

According to estimates by the United Nations Environment Program, the potential for wind power in Kenya is around 2,000 megawatts. At present, more than 20 investors have obtained permission from Kenya to carry out wind power projects.