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Africa & Middle East / Commercial & demonstration

Marsabit

Current status, energy mix, organizations, suppliers, equipment, controls, reported specifications, and project updates—with source-level citations.

CoverageDetailed public record
Named organizations5
System facts18
Sources reviewed8
Evidence reviewed2026-07-20

Marsabit is Kenya Power's isolated town power system at Marsabit, Kenya; it is not the 310 MW Lake Turkana Wind Power plant elsewhere in Marsabit County. The documented hybrid configuration added two 275 kW wind turbines to diesel generation and an ABB 500 kW PowerStore flywheel with Microgrid Plus controls. Kenya's 2022 public register lists the Marsabit off-grid undertaking at 1.666 MW licensed capacity using wind and liquid-fuel generation, while an ABB presentation described 2 x 800 kW diesels plus 550 kW wind; these are different regulatory/equipment figures and are not merged. Recent evidence shows the town remained off-grid, suffered serious outages attributed to aged generators, and was still procuring repairs for two ABC medium-speed diesel engines in 2026.

Research status
Operating but capacity- and reliability-constrained off-grid utility system. Kenya Power was procuring repair services and spare parts for two Marsabit Power Station diesel engines in 2026, confirming that thermal generation remained operationally important. A national-grid transmission connection has been discussed/planned, but no source reviewed establishes that Marsabit was interconnected by July 2026. Current wind availability, flywheel condition, renewable fraction, and fuel consumption were not publicly verified.
Historical classification
Community
Reported capacity
See component specifications
Coordinates
2.33550, 37.99435
Evidence note: “Every company” cannot be proven from public material alone. This page lists every organization found in the recovered record and reviewed sources, preserves unknown roles, and explicitly marks undisclosed controller or equipment details.
Report missing evidenceResearch methodology

Project delivery

Who was involved in Marsabit?

5 publicly identified organizations. Where a recovered source named a participant without explaining its work, the role remains explicitly unspecified.

Organization

ABB

Supplier of the containerized PowerStore flywheel, Microgrid Plus controls, and diesel-control integration. [3][8]

Organization

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA)

Kenyan regulator publishing the licensed off-grid undertaking and capacity. [5]

Organization

Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO)

Transmission developer associated with the planned Loyangalani-Marsabit grid connection; commissioning was not established in the sources reviewed. [6]

Organization

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (Kenya Power)

Licensed owner/operator of the Marsabit off-grid power undertaking and procuring entity for diesel-engine repair. [5][6][7]

Organization

Socabelec East Africa Ltd (SEAL)

Project customer/contracting partner that placed the storage and control order with ABB. [3]

System evidence

Energy mix, capacity, and specifications

Values can describe different project phases, generation sources, storage systems, or other components. Source citations are attached to each figure so discrepancies remain visible.

KW Wind
550 [1]
Storage
18000 kW Flywheel [1]
Wind generation
550 kW from 2 x 275 kW wind turbines. [3][4][8]
Flywheel storage
500 kW ABB PowerStore. An ABB presentation gives 16.5 MW-seconds of stored energy, equivalent to very short-duration grid support rather than bulk battery storage. [3][8]
Licensed aggregate capacity
1.666 MW for the Marsabit wind/IDO/HFO undertaking in EPRA's February 2022 register. [5]
Published diesel equipment capacity
An ABB presentation describes 2 x 800 kW diesel generators. This equipment figure plus 550 kW wind exceeds EPRA's 1.666 MW licensed figure, so the two values likely reflect different definitions, dates, or available versus installed capacity. [8][5]
2026 diesel units under repair
2 x ABC Type 6DZC-750-170-A medium-speed diesel engines; the tender covers repairs, spares, testing, and commissioning but does not clearly state their electrical kW output. [7]
Population/service descriptions
ABB's early case material referred to reliable electricity for about 5,000 people, while 2023 reporting described a town population above 70,000. These are different dates/service-area descriptions and should not be treated as a single stable customer count. [4][6]

Controls and hardware

Equipment and controller details

Manufacturer and model are shown only when a source names them. Generic descriptions are not converted into guessed product assignments.

01

Wind turbines

Model not publicly disclosed

Two 275 kW units. Manufacturer and model were not identified in the authoritative sources reviewed. [3]

02

Flywheel energy storage

ABB — PowerStore

Containerized 500 kW flywheel for fast active-power balancing, frequency support, and renewable integration. [3][8]

03

Microgrid controller

ABB — Microgrid Plus

Coordinates wind, diesel, flywheel, and load and was designed to integrate with the existing diesel controls. [3][8]

04

Diesel engines

Anglo Belgian Corporation (ABC) — 6DZC-750-170-A

Two medium-speed engines named in Kenya Power's 2026 repair procurement; their relationship to the earlier 2 x 800 kW description is not explicitly documented. [7]

Technical record

Architecture, performance, and project updates

Concise technical facts, milestones, operating results, and later developments. Dated notes distinguish historical design claims from current evidence.

  • Generation

    Wind, diesel, storage [1]

  • Identity exclusion

    This record covers the Marsabit town off-grid station. Lake Turkana Wind Power is a separate, grid-scale project and must not be counted as this microgrid's generation. [5][6]

  • Control architecture

    The flywheel and Microgrid Plus controller smooth wind variability and coordinate diesels so that the isolated grid can maintain frequency and voltage without using the flywheel as long-duration energy supply. [3][8]

  • Reliability update

    In 2023 residents protested persistent outages; Kenya Power attributed constraints to old/unserviceable generators and moved an additional 500 kVA generator from Moyale as an interim measure. [6]

  • Current maintenance

    The 2026 tender for major repairs, spare parts, testing, and recommissioning of two ABC engines is direct evidence that diesel remains central to the station and that overhaul work is ongoing. [7]

  • Evidence gap

    No current wind production, flywheel availability, diesel efficiency, customer energy mix, outage trend after the repairs, or confirmed grid-interconnection date was found through July 2026. [6][7]

Provenance

8 sources

Primary owner, government, university, supplier, and engineering sources are preferred. Archived references preserve claims whose original pages moved or disappeared.

  1. [1]
    Recovered Microgrid Projects record

    Internet Archive · Archived source · captured 2021-04-20

  2. [2]
  3. [3]
  4. [4]
  5. [5]
    Register of Licences for Electric Power Undertakings, February 2022

    Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority · Primary source

  6. [6]
  7. [7]
  8. [8]
    Renewables Automation Solutions, Battery Energy Storage and Microgrids

    ABB presentation mirrored by SlidePlayer · Archived source

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