Wind power firm seeks contractor tenders

The firm plans to produce 300 MW by 2012

A firm putting up a wind farm in north western Kenya said it was seeking construction tenders for a 428-km (266-mile) power line and four substations to connect the renewable power to the national grid.

Kenya is looking to develop “green” energy sources, such as wind and geothermal power, to meet energy demand — currently at some 1,200 MW — that is growing at around 8 percent annually.

Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited plans to install 360 wind turbines, each generating 850 kW, in the remote northwestern part of Kenya, approximately 600 km from the capital, Nairobi.

“The company hereby invites interested parties (high-profile transmission line and substation contracting companies from different parts of the world) to submit expressions of interest for purposes of pre-qualification,” the company said.

“The objective of the company is to create shortlists of qualified bidders,” it said on the website of advisers KPMG.

The power generated will be stepped up to 400 kV, transported by double circuit line and connected to the national electricity grid at Suswa, 70 km northwest of Nairobi. It will then be stepped down to 220 kV and released for distribution by the Kenya Power and Lighting Company.

The firm plans to produce 300 MW by 2012 in a project whose cost could total $760 million . Once completed, it could meet about a quarter of Kenya’s total energy demand. Source: Reuters

Update (May 17, 2009) – AfDB to fund Lake Turkana wind power project.

Update (March 28, 2011) – Lake Turkana wind project to start by December.

Do you have any Feedback about this page?
© www.constructionkenya.com All rights reserved. No part of this site may be reproduced without our written permission.Subscribe to our Free E-Newsletter.