The solar plant will be located on a 371 acre piece of land in Kesses near Moi University, Eldoret. The project is expected to cost around US$10m for infrastructure development alone. The project is expected to be ready in 10 to 14 months once the power purchase agreement (PPA) has been signed between Alten Kenya Solarfarms and Kenya Power.

 

Alten Kenya has planned to set up 159,920 panels which are mounted on mobile devices called solar trackers in order to increase energy production, because the trackers are oriented constantly according to the sun.

 

The company also plans to construct a 33/220kV sub-station at the project site to connect to the national grid. The electric sub-station will transform the power from medium voltage (33kV) to high voltage (220kV) for connection to the grid

 

Kenya is putting up solar power plants in many parts of the country to help meet the growing demand for electricity in the country. It is expected that solar power will cater for more than half of the country’s energy needs by 2016.

 

Once completed, the project will be the largest commercially produced solar energy in the country. The largest power plant currently in the country is in Kericho County, Kenya. The plant is producing 1MW of electricity which is used to power Kenya Tea Development Agency for its factories.

Source : www.constructionreviewonline.com