Kenya has a huge potential for wind exploitation with 73% of the total area of the country experiencing annual mean wind-speeds of more than 6 m/s at 100 m above ground as shown in Figure 4-5.[1]
Figure 4-5: Wind speed map above 100 meters
[1] Ministry of Energy (2013), Wind Sector Prospectus-Wind Energy Data Analysis and Development Programme, Nairobi.
Source: Ministry of Energy (2013), Wind Sector Prospectus-Wind Energy Data Analysis and Development Programme
Turkana County has a great potential of wind energy with maximum mean annual wind speeds, at 100m height, of 7.11m/s and a maximum potential area of 61,353 km2. The wind regime is consistent throughout the year providing an all-year round wind power generation potential. The wind characteristics are due to high temperature fluctuations experienced in the Turkana basin which generates strong predictable wind streams between Lake Turkana (with relatively constant temperature due to the lake’s moderating effect) and the desert hinterland (with steep temperature fluctuations). The wind stream is accelerated as it passes through the valley between the Mt. Kulal and Mt. Nyiru ranges, which effectively act as a funnel (known as the Turkana Corridor low level jet stream). This great wind potential in the region has seen the development of the Lake Turkana Wind Project in Marsabit County whose installed capacity is 310 MW.
On exploitability, the Wind Resource Assessment carried out by WinDForce shows that the wind resource in the County can be harnessed at attractive equity returns to investors. A key constraint to the development of wind energy is the availability of evacuation lines.
A wind suitability map was derived for Turkana County to identify potential sites for wind development. The basic factors that were used to determine the most suitable sites included distance from roads and towns, distance to an evacuation line, Kenyan monthly average wind data at 50m above the surface of the earth, elevation, land use and distance from established airports within the county.
Figure 4-6 shows the restricted areas because of the presence of air strips and the wind auditability map for Turkana.
Figure 4-6: Restricted areas around airports and wind site suitability map
