The Kenya Electricity Generating Company - KenGen has embarked on generating electricity using wind driven turbines.

The Ngong Wind Turbine Power Project constructed at a cost of Euros 10 million (Kshs 1 Billion) is being funded through a loan from the Belgium government.

On commissioning in two months time, the wind project will inject some 5 megawatts into the national electricity grid.

The Ngong wind power project located on the North East side of Ngong hills, is the very first of other wind projects set for development in the country.

KenGen is already computing data from Marsabit, Malindi, Lake Victoria region, Garissa and Loitokitok for the development of similar projects.

"We are confident that wind energy will not let us down the way hydro electricity power generation has been erratic owing to low water volumes as a result of the vagaries of weather," said Hezron Ng'iela the project Engineer at the Ngong Wind Turbine Power Project on Ngong Hills.

The electricity generating company says it has been running studies at the Ngong Station before embarking on the multimillion wind power project, and was optimistic that it will pay dividends.

Kenya has an installed capacity of 1,204 megawatts of energy, against a national peak demand of 1,071 megawatts.

This demand is rising by 8 per cent per annum. The situation is further complicated by dwindling water resources that have been the main source of hydro electricity power generation.

This week, KenGen shut down Masinga Power Station owing to falling water levels that had rendered electricity production at the station, ineffective.

In this year's budget, Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta allocated 7 billion shillings towards the development of renewable energy sources, including wind, geothermal, bio-fuel, biomass and solid waste.