Lake Turkana Wind Power project (LTWP), Africa’s largest wind farm, is inching closer to becoming a reality following the commencement of the construction phase.

The project, the biggest after Ethiopia’s Ashegoda Wind Farm project and the largest private investment in Kenya to date, will provide reliable and low-cost wind power to boost overall energy supply.

Once the facility becomes operational, it will provide approximately 15 percent of the total energy needed for local consumption in Kenya. This is equivalent to approximately 330,000 households.

Ketraco, the Kenyan national grid company, has begun constructing a 450km transmission line to connect the outskirts of Nairobi to neighbouring rural towns where electricity is considered a much more luxurious service.

With funding from wild range of funders including the European Investment Bank, East African Development Bank and the African Development Bank, the wind farm is expected meet estimated completion date, slatted for the first quarter of 2017.