LTWP contributes renewable energy to the national grid. The wind power that LTWP produces replaces millions of dollars’ worth of diesel-generated electricity that would otherwise be emitting millions of tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year.
The wind farm is run by a comprehensive team of industry experts. More than 350 people have gotten gainful employment by working at LTWP. The wind farm is especially important to the hundreds of families in Marsabit County – a traditionally marginalised region – who otherwise may not have had the income to sustain their lives.
Furthermore, the CSR activities that LTWP undertakes through its foundation, Winds of Change, further help improve the quality of life of the communities living around the wind farm by improving access to education, access to education, and significantly impacting water availability in the arid area.
Among the improvements and advantages that Africa’s largest wind farm has brought to Kenya, there is one technical innovation that benefits the national grid more than any other – the STATCOM.
An acronym with a unique name, the Static Synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) is a device that provides or absorbs reactive current, and by doing so regulates the voltage at the point of connection to the transmission circuit.
Think about it as the middle pole in a long clothesline. If you hang too many clothes on a long line that doesn’t have that middle supporting pole, the whole line is at risk for collapse. The STATCOM provides that support so that when there is too much current on the transmission circuit, the current is absorbed by the STATCOM and keeps the voltage within operational limits.
To see its impact, imagine the kind of damage that a voltage surge does to the electronic appliances in your home. One voltage surge can absolutely damage your TV, fridge, microwave, and anything else that isn’t connected to the socket through a voltage stabiliser.
The STATCOM, therefore, acts as a voltage stabiliser for the transmission interconnector circuit and keeps safe billions of shillings of electrical equipment across the country, including transformers, transmission stations, cables and other equipment.
LTWP brought the first STATCOM to Kenya, providing much needed addition to the electricity infrastructure in the country, and potentially helping prevent millions of shillings of damage to the equipment vital to electricity transmission and distribution.