Renewable, clean, and sustainable energy is part of Kenya's mission to attain environmental sustainability. The Ngong Hills majestically stands at the outskirts of Kenya's capital, Nairobi approximately 23.3 km away hosts the Ngong Wind Power Station, that was first commissioned in 1993 with two turbines donated by the Belgian government. The wind power station is located in Kajiado County, holding the distinction of being the first wind farm in Kenya and East Africa. The African Environmental Youth Advisory, as part of its mission to prioritize empowering environmental education in local and global communities, had the opportunity to visit the Ngong Wind-power Station on May 8, 2025. Through the guidance of Engineer George Mwenda Maingi, the deputy director at Kenya Electricity Generating Company, which operates the wind energy facility, the group gained valuable insights. 

Experience at Ngong Wind-power Station 

During the visit the team members from African Environmental Youth Advisory, Nyasaina Kwamboka, Cecily Wijenje and Jeremiah Muuo, had an opportunity to interact with Engineer Maingi, who took them through an informative session of understanding better how Kenya's wind energy sector operates. 

First, the engineer stated that the Ngong Phase 1 was commissioned in 2009, with six turbines generating an average of 850 kilowatts each. Later after in 2014 the Ngong Phase 2 was commissioned bringing to a total of 30 turbines with a capacity of 25.5 MW at the station. This, in turn, is met by the domestic consumption of an average Kenyan household consuming 200 kilowatts daily. 

Did you know 25 revolutions per minute, a single turbine generates 1 unit of kilowatts? 

The engineer noted that KenGen leverages the region's (Ngong) strong and consistent wind patterns to generate sustainable energy, minimizing environmental impact. This, in turn, makes the country a leading global producer of green energy. He added that, with the production from Ngong Wind Farm, there are other farms, such as the Lake Turkana Wind Power, which generates 70% of Kenya's wind energy, and the privately owned Kipeto Wind Farm, which also contributes to the total wind energy produced in Kenya. This production is transmitted to the Kenyan government by the producers, guided by an agreement known as the Power Purchase Agreement, under which the energy is sold to a distributor, such as the Kenya Power and Lighting Company.

This process is regulated by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, which has seen Kenya source its energy from renewable sources like wind, geothermal, hydro, and solar. 

Did you know that the Lake Turkana Wind Power Station is the largest wind farm in Africa, located in Marsabit, Kenya with 365 turbines generating 300MW 

The team later got to tour the turbine's site and the control center, where, for the first time, they witnessed the cleaning of the turbine blades that would accelerate their rotations, hence producing more energy. This was a spectacular moment to witness the 55M tall turbines gracefully rotate while the rests were being cleaned. The site offered a good view of the plains of Suswa and, on the other end, the bustling capital, Nairobi. The team got an opportunity to interview the cleaning company, which stated they were using environmentally friendly cleaning products to ensure the process was not detrimental to the environment.

We are thankful to the ACE SME grant and community that made this field research possible.