KenGen suspends 400-MW wind power project over land issues

Kenya’s electricity producer KenGen has suspended the development of a 400 MW wind farm project in the Meru county due to prolonged land disputes.

"We await land adjudication so that we can deal with the bona-fide land owners", KenGen’s CEO Albert Mugo said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

The first 80 MW-phase was supposed to start feeding electricity to the grid in December this year. The project is supported by the French Development Agency (AFD) with financing to the tune of EUR 60 million (USD 63.88m).

The design of the wind farm project is based on a feasibility study that consultancy company Grontmij has prepared for KenGen in July 2012 and financed with a grant provided by AFD to the Government of Kenya.

The 18,700-acre-piece of land on which the wind turbines should be sited is located close to the Isiolo international airport and is also seen as an avenue for the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia-Transport (Lapsset) transport corridor project.

Land disputes are a real challenge for renewable power developers in Kenya. In the autumn, another big wind farm project was rumoured to face delays over land issues. Learn more at Lake Turkana wind farm may face court battle over land issues

(EUR 1 = USD 1.065)

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