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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
JUNE
2015
ENVIRONMENT
The 32-month project, which will
establish the biggest wind farm
of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa
and represents one of the biggest
single private investment in Kenya’s history,
aims to supply 300 MW of reliable, low cost
wind turbine generator capacity to the
Kenyan national grid, equivalent to about
20% of the country’s current installed elec-
tricity generating capacity.
The project is part of the Kenyan govern-
ment’s drive to generate 5000 MW for the
country by 2017.
“This is the biggest renewable energy
project WorleyParsons RSA has under-
taken to date,” says the company’s Denver
Dreyer. “We’ve already forged a proud track
record in the renewable energy space and
being awarded this contract is testament
to our ability as a partner of choice for
energy developers in remote locations.
As one of Kenya’s top three capex projects,
it is of strategic importance that we
deliver this undertaking to the country in a
manner that will ensure it will be of lasting
benefit to its people.”
WorleyParsons will provide overall
project management, engineering review
and construction management services
and was also awarded a pre-mobilisation
contract to develop management philos-
ophies/protocols and align contractors to
allow the project to begin at a robust pace.
Rizwan Fazal of Lake Turkana Wind Power
says: “WorleyParsons brings an invaluable
combination of local and international
knowledge and experience to this project.
Both the international and local organisa-
tions have reputations for delivering world
class projects and we are delighted to have
them on board for this critical undertaking.”
The Project Management team com-
prises a core group of WorleyParsons project
leaders, supplemented with professional
personnel sourced locally in Kenya, as part
of its localisation philosophy. These profes-
sionals will have a unique opportunity to
work on a project of this magnitude and to
gain specialised skills.
The team is split between WorleyPar-
sons’ Nairobi project office and the Turkana
site office, which is located at a distance of
12 hours by road in a 4x4 from Nairobi, or
1,5 hours by chartered flight. This remote,
desert-like environment is inhabited by
about 10 nomadic tribes, with the closest
village about 40 km away.
The site was selected following an
extensive survey of the region that focused
on environmental, social and sustainability,
technology and commercial considerations.
The survey took into account the
remoteness and security of the area, the
strength and stability of the winds, proven
available technology, the benign environ-
mental setting, low population density, fresh
Lake Turkana
WIND POWER
project
Following the November 2014 signing of a contract to deliver project
management services to Lake Turkana Wind Power’s wind farm
project in Kenya, WorleyParsons has begun to mobilise its project
management teams on site in the Loyangalani District, Marsabit
West County, in the Turkana region.
water availability and road accessibility.
The project spans an area of 160 km
2
and the scope includes 365 wind turbines
of 850 kW each, an electric grid collec-
tion system and a high voltage substation,
as well as upgrades to 200 km of existing
road, an internal site road network and a
160 man self-contained village for the
turbine contractor’s team.
The village, that incorporates a bank
and a medical facility, will later house
personnel for the operational phase of
the project. The Kenyan government has
undertaken to finance and construct a
428 km transmission line that will link into
the national grid at Nairobi.
WorleyParsons project manager on
the Lake Turkana Wind Project, Stefan
van Niekerk, says logistics will be one of
the biggest challenges, as a high volume of
components need to be transported from
the Port at Mombasa to the project site,
a distance about 1 200 km, over a 12-month
period from Q1 2016.
Although each contractor will take
responsibility for its own logistics, Worley-
Parsons will oversee the process in terms
of facility inspections, quality checks and
testing, and delivery schedules.
Corporate Social Investment is a key
deliverable for WorleyParsons and the team
is currently investigating opportunities to
contribute to local communities. Informal
donations have already been made to a
local school.
WorleyParsons RSA is one of the largest
engineering contractors in South Africa,
offering Advisory, Select, Delivery and
Improve (sustaining capital) services into
sub-Saharan Africa across the customer
sectors of mining, hydrocarbons, power and
infrastructure.
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WorleyParsons RSA’s Denver Dreyer.