WA gives laser aid for wind farm in Kenya

Sunday Times
Sunday 20/9/2009 Page: 36

WA has lent a $1.2 million laser wind-monitoring device to Africa to help build one of the world's biggest wind farms. The device, called a Lidar and originally bought from the US, will use light to measure wind patterns near Lake Turkana in Kenya. Engineers will use the information to build a 300MW windfarm that will hopefully supply 30% of Kenya's energy by 2012. The same technology will also be used next year in industrial areas around WA to monitor pollution and dust.

Environment Minister Donna Faragher said WA was helping develop one of the world's biggest renewable energy projects in a country that suffers from chronic power shortages. "The Lidar is being lent to Kenya because it can markedly improve the efficiency of the project by ensuring the turbines are positioned for optimal performance," Ms Faragher said. "It (the windfarm) is set to have a massive impact on the country's chronic power shortages, while also boosting jobs, infrastructure and social development."

Project developers hope to expand the farm to eventually generate a further 2700MW, making it one of the biggest wind farms in the world. The deployment in Kenya will test the operational limits of the Lidar to ensure optimum performance when it is used in WA. "The Lidar technology presents a significant leap forward in determining wind behaviour," Ms Faragher said.