KenGen's wind power project in Marsabit faces new hurdles

KenGen wind power turbines in Ngong hills, Kajiado county. The firm plans to build a wind power plant in Marsabit County. [File, Standard] A wind power plant planned by the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) in Marsabit County has split the host communities, with different groups now expressing divided opinion on key aspects of the project. The locals appear sharply divided and are now pushing KenGen to consider their views. These include the name of the project, opposing the firm's proposed name of Marsabit Wind Project. Other issues that are of concern to the communities, but they appear unable to present a united front, include the route that the firm will use in the delivery of the equipment to the site, the location of the site office and how KenGen should go about land acquisition. KenGen is planning to build a wind power plant in Marsabit, with an initial capacity of 200 megawatts that will be ready in 2028. Later phases of the project are expected to see the plant's power-generating capacity increase to 1,000MW, making it the largest planned wind farm in Africa so far. Transport infrastructure It will be the second such power plant to be constructed in Marsabit after the Lake Turkana Wind Power (LTWP) plant, which has an installed capacity of 310MW. Parts of Marsabit County have among the best wind regimes in the region, and several other companies are planning to build wind farms with a combined installed capacity of 1,000MW. Apart from KenGen, others include Sosian Energy, Gitson Energy, Kenya Mudhe Wind Power and Ignite Energy. The projects are expected to bring with them benefits including improved transport infrastructure, jobs for the area residents and also social projects including water points, schools and health facilities. This was the case when LTWP was being constructed, but the firm has also tried to be present within the community after project completion. Communities in the locality where KenGen plans to put up its power plant are now jostling for the benefits that they expect will accrue during both the project construction phase and when it becomes operational. Four different professional associations wrote a joint letter to KenGen on June 27, pointing to areas where they think that the company might make changes so as to endear the project to the community. "As professionals of the host community, we recognise the significance of the proposed wind power project and potential benefits it can bring to the region," said the associations in the letter. These are the Rendille Professionals Association, Turkana Professionals Association, Kulal Professionals Association and the Elmolo Professionals Association. "However, we emphasize the importance of ensuring our voices, as the indigenous host community, are heard and that our concerns are addressed from the very beginning." The letter identified several concerns that they want KenGen to look into "prior to granting consent for the proposed project or making any financial commitments with potential inventors". These include the project name, the site office location, the route that the project will follow and land acquisition. The professionals suggested that KenGen abandon the project name Marsabit Wind Power plant and instead adopt the name Loiyangalani-Mt Kiulal Power Project. "We believe this name overlooks the distinct cultural and historical significance of the indigenous lands where valuable resources are located. We object to the name 'Marsabit Wind Power Project' as proposed by KenGen. We proposed that the project be named Loiyanalani-Mt Kulal Wind Power Project to better reflect the unique cultural and geographical identity of the area," said the groups in the letter. "This would align with the naming conventions of other KenGen projects, such as Ngong Wind Power, Olkaria and Sondu Miriu, all of which highlight specific locations." The group has also objected to the KenGen site office being located at Gas in Laisamis Constituency, noting that a majority of the turbines will be located in El-Molo Bay and Larachi, and hence, the site office should be located in these areas for ease of access to the turbines. "The map currently used by KenGen differs from the recognised IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission) map, which includes the distinct straight line known as the Stiggard Line from Moite to Orodere. Land acquisition from indigenous communities must be handled with care, considering legal, ethical and cultural factors. These include engaging in respectful dialogue, obtaining informed consent and acknowledging the community's deep connection to the land," they noted "We urge KenGen to take into account the ongoing process of land registration in which the host community is currently engaged, with land held in trust by the Marsabit County Government. Any allocation of community land for this project will only occur once all necessary documentation is finalised." Project site office The groups also want the project route changed, from the current Nairobi-Laisamis-Marsabit-Maikona-North Horr and instead to Nairobi-Laisamis-Namarei-Sarima-Kibirok. The latter route, they said, would be shorter and easier to connect to the project site office. But also looking at the interest of their localities with the expectation that both KenGen and the government would invest in road infrastructure to ease the delivery of materials, including turbines. Nearly a month after the professionals from Marsabit County wrote to KenGen, Member of the County Assembly for North Horr Tura Ruru Elema wrote to the firm on June 23, objecting to the proposals made by the group of professionals from Marsabit. Elema said he was writing as the "recognised spokesperson of the Gabra Community" who live in Gas, which he termed as "the exact location of the Marsabit Wind Power Project". He said the memorandum by the professionals and the objections they raised "do not represent the legitimate interests of the host community of Gas but rather seek to mislead, delay and derail the project that is of direct benefit to our people". He gave a different proposal that the project be named the Gas Wind Power Project. He also said the site office should be located at Gas. "If the name of the project must reflect its actual location... then the only correct and appropriate name is Gas Wind Power Project, because the project is 100 per cent located in Gas," said Elema. On the route that the project should follow, he noted that KenGen and its project partners should not be made to "incur unnecessary expenses or adopt a route that is technically inferior". "This project will bring development, jobs and lasting socio-economic benefits to our people," said Elema. Several large-scale energy projects have in the past faced difficulties in implementation due to differences with the community. These include LTWP, which, while largely seen as a success, has grappled with claims that the land on which the project sits was acquired irregularly. In 2021, the High Court in deciding a case filed in 2014 found that the land titles were irregular due to unprocedural acquisition and gave the county government of Marsabit, the Attorney General, Chief Land Register and National Land Commission a year to regularise the process. The investors of the Kinangop Wind Power abandoned the project after sustained opposition from the community members.

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