Kenya is building Africa’s biggest wind energy farm to generate a fifth of its power

Kenya set in motion the construction of Africa’s biggest wind power farm this week, near Laisamis, 550km north of Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

Known as the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project, the wind farm site covers 40,000 acres (162km2), which will be powered by the ‘Turkana Corridorwind.’ It is a low-level jet stream originating from the Indian Ocean and blows all year round.

The project will consist of 365 turbines and expected to achieve 68% load capacity factor, which will make it the most efficient wind power farm in the world. read more: http://qz.com/444936/kenya-is-building-africas-biggest-wind-energy-farm-to-generate-a-fifth-of-its-power/

Lance Richardson finds the Africa of imagination on the shores of Lake Turkana

There is a room in the Nairobi National Museum that resembles a vault designed to showcase jewels, tucked behind bulletproof glass. In a sense that's exactly what it is. Although the room contains little more than bones, these fragments are just as precious as diamonds and even more rare.

For example, there is a skull of Homo habilis ("handy man"), found in 1973 by the research team of Richard Leakey, a skull of Homo erectus ("upright man"), and also Nariokotome boy, the most complete early human skeleton ever discovered. These bones are divergent lines of evolution - or the remains of our ancient ancestors. Almost all were found at Lake Turkana, Kenya.
Read more: www.theage.com.au/travel

Lake Turkana: largest desert lake in the world

Geography of Lake Turkana
The Turkana Basin is located at the northern end of Kenya’s Great Rift Valley, a trench that runs north to south in the African country. A primary feature of the Turkana Basin is Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world. Surrounding the body of water, which is a stopover for migrant waterfowl as well as a breeding ground for the Nile crocodile, the landscape and climate are arid with areas devoid of life. Besides the lake, the region is known around the world for its extensive fossil deposits that have led scientists to a greater understanding of the evolution of the human species. more: education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/

Lake Turkana’s unique chemistry
Extending from northern Kenya into southern Ethiopia, Lake Turkana is a body of water with a handful of distinctions. Surrounded by arid, harsh terrain, Lake Turkana is the largest permanent desert lake in the world—stretching almost 250 kilometers (155 miles) from north to south. The lake is also known for its striking turquoise color, leading to its nickname, the "Jade Sea." more: education.nationalgeographic.com/education/news/weird-waters/

Paleogeography of Lake Turkana
What we think of as Lake Turkana has only been around for the past 200,000 years—the blink of an eye in geologic terms. The expanding and receding shores of the lake have provided food and water to organisms for millions of years.

Today, scientists study the stratigraphy—layers of rocks and sediment—of the Turkana basin to better understand the age of fossils discovered there. Stratigraphy also provides clues to the ancient paleoenvironments these organisms encountered when they were alive. more: education.nationalgeographic.com/education/multimedia/

To build arid areas into export processing zones

Kenya is accelerating development plans to end the marginalisation of its arid and semi arid regions mainly in the northern part of the country that have high poverty levels because of lack of infrastructure to facilitate growth of enterprises.

The Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya announced its intentions on Tuesday in Nairobi to set up export processing zones in at least three counties in the region, in addition to helping the respective counties develop business models to earn more revenue. In various announcements carried in the national press on Tuesday, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Northern Kenya Lawrence Lenayapa said the government is seeking consultants to help meet the objectives of making the region economically viable.
Read more: Business Daily, March 07, 2012

New port to be gateway to Great Lakes region

The construction of Lamu Port in Kenya has been officially launched by Kenya’s President Mwai Kibaki, South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The Port is expected to act as the main gateway to Africa’s Great Lakes region that includes the Horn of Africa, eastern Africa and central Africa.

The inauguration of the port project also marked the launch of the Lamu Port–South Sudan–Ethiopia Transport Project (Lapsset). This project will see the creation of a superhighway that will link Kenya and Ethiopia.

In addition, Kenya and Sudan signed a memorandum of understanding that will see the creation of an oil pipeline from Juba in South Sudan to Lamu.
read more: RFI English

Now Brand Kenya unveils drive to market counties

Brand Kenya is training local government officials on the branding and marketing of counties in order to attract investment. The national image agency is keen on preparing counties for the sizeable budgetary allocations expected once the devolved government structure becomes operational after next year’s General Election and has set aside Sh3 million for the campaign. read more at source: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Now+Brand+Kenya+unveils+drive+to+market+counties+/-/539550/1275062/-/q4h76o/-/index.html