Devki targets power sector with 60MW wind farm in Kwale
By John Otini, August 23, 2022Devki Group, a steel and cement company, will start generating 60MW of electricity at a proposed wind farm in Kwale County, the company announced yesterdaay. The power will help to reduce the cost of running its plants as it seeks to mitigate the high cost of power in the country.
“Devki Steel Mills Ltd would like to develop a 60MW of wind power plant in Samburu, Kwale. The power generated will be used for their own consumption in the Samburu plant,” said the firm meaning it will not be sold to the national grid.
This also means that Kenya Power will lose a major customer since steel and cement factories are some of the major consumers of power.
“The proposed project will be located at Samburu on the Mombasa-Nairobi Road in Kinango District, Kwale County,” it said in a disclosure to the National Environmental Management Agency (Nema).
Devki’s move comes at a time when a number of companies including Bamburi Cement have been investing in renewable energy to cut their cost of operations reducing their payments to Kenya Power.
Power tariffs
Kenya has one of the highest power tariffs on the continent, a situation that has denied the country its growth dividends especially in the manufacturing sector.
It is, however, not clear how Devki will store its windpower to ensure steady supply since that would involve investments in expensive rechargeable battery packs.
Despite reports that the company will sell the power to the grid, the company in the gazette notice reiterated that the power is for internal consumption.
Devki said the wind characteristics of the area are ideal for power generation. The proposed wind farm will be constructed by installing 38 wind turbines to generate electricity.