Methodology and case studies

From its inception, the project engendered protest and resistance by several local communities and by international NGOs (see, for instance, Danwatch 2016). The major point of contention was the neglect of community land rights. At first, LTWP did not accept criticism and the implicit calls for greater local participation, contending that it only occupied empty land. According to the LTWP, pastoralists still have access to the acquired land to graze their livestock (see Figure 6.1.). The company therefore argued that there was no justification for further compensation beyond providing for community resettlement (Enns 2016). Unresolved issues around the wind park led to a lawsuit, the Meru Environmental and Land Case no. 163 of 2014, filed by the senator of Marsabit County and several members of the County Assembly (Achiba 2019) on behalf of the residents of Laisamis constituency and Karare ward. The defendants included Lake Turkana Wind Power, the first Marsabit county government, and three national-level actors, including the attorney general, chief land registrar, and National Land Commission (NLC), along with other interested parties.2 http://kenyalaw.org/caselaw/cases/view/152078 The petitioners claimed that the land acquisition by the investors was illegal due to a lack of community consultation, inadequate compensation, amongst other violations (Cormack and Kurewa 2018, Enns 2016).

The lawsuit was challenged by a few local residents who were directly affected by the project and allegedly receiving some benefits from the wind project. This group claimed that they were, in fact, consulted and that the plaintiffs were outsiders to the project area with ulterior motives (Achiba 2019). In October 2021, the High Court in Meru ruled against the LTWP and the government, demanding that the land acquisition process be regularised within 12 months or else the leasehold would be annulled. The LTWP asked for a review of the judgement, requesting an indefinite extension given that the community and the government need to formalize Community Land registration to enable them to regularize the process. On 22 May 2023, the Kenyan Environment and Land Court in Meru rejected the application for review filed by LTWP, leaving them in the difficult position of occupying the land illegally. At the same time, the community is taking steps towards registration of their land and deciding the way forward (Andae 2023).3 Meeting with senior official from Marsabit county government, 28 July 2024.

As growing international attention posed reputational risks for Vestas and other investors, in 2015, the LTWP started a comprehensive corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme – the so-called LTWP Winds of Change Foundation – to support local communities in the provisioning of water, schools, and health infrastructures (Achiba 2019). The LTWP is also actively engaging communities in peace talks, providing security interventions to help restore peace, especially during inter-tribal disputes over land, cattle, and other resources. Recently, these security interventions have recorded some degree of successes within and among ethnic groups in the region.4 Authors’ interviews with various community members in Sarima, Civicon, and Mount Kulal villages, November-December 2023 and May 2024.

As such, since 2012, there have been numerous confrontations between local community members and the company and its subcontractors over displacements, participation deficits, jobs, compensation, and tenders. These conflicts have usually been small in scale and nonviolent, with the exception of two demonstrations in 2013 and 2018 that led to the cessation of oil operations. When Tullow Oil established an operation base and airstrip on 400 acres of community land, which an investor had leased from Turkana County Council in 2012 – in anticipation of oil extraction – community members entered the base and caused damage to the property worth upwards of 60,000 USD. By way of compensation for the acquired land, and in response to the protests, Tullow Oil significantly increased its CSR measures, including drilling boreholes for water, building schools and a hospital, establishing funds for community development committees, and creating offices to address community grievances.5 Author’s interview with a staff member of the Tullow Oil Resource Centre in Lodwar, March 2019. Moreover, employment of local workers and subcontracts by Tullow Oil for Kenyan suppliers increased until 2016. However, when most of the required construction work was completed, many people lost their jobs. Community protests re-emerged in 2017 – community members blocked company trucks and prohibited access to the oil production sites, as they demanded a share of revenue greater than 5 per cent (Mkutu and Mdee 2020, Schilling et al. 2018). Furthermore, the historical rivalries between the Turkana and Pokot to the south have been exacerbated by the presence of oil fields. This has raised the stakes for territorial control in the area, cascading into contestations and deadly conflicts (Agade 2017, Mkutu and Mdee 2020).

The Kenyan government was responsible for acquiring land for the 824-kilometre oil pipeline, as part of the LAPSSET corridor. In February 2019, the NLC officially designated the required land without involving the county government or local communities. Shortly thereafter, when the NLC announced the designation and associated compulsory acquisition during a public assembly in Lokichar, turmoil broke out. A member of the County Assembly closed the event and filed a complaint (Grawert 2019), demanding to nullify the land acquisition. Furthermore, the Turkana County government went to court to stop the compulsory acquisition of indigenous land.6 https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/adblock?u=https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2001316308/government-blocked-from-acquiring-land-in-turkanaD Issues of contention included the lack of consultation between national and county governments, as well as lack of community participation or compensation. When the court ordered the matter to be handled by alternative dispute resolution through the Intergovernmental Relations Act, Tullow Oil suspended its pipeline activities.

Major new infrastructural developments include those at the Menengai caldera after 2011, close to the city of Nakuru, and developments at Baringo-Silali shortly thereafter, which are the focus of this contribution (Figure 6.1). The most important actors in geothermal development are national-state agencies, mainly KenGen, the national power-generation company, and the Geothermal Development Corporation (GDC), a 100 per cent state agency established in 2008 in order to fast-track geothermal energy exploitation. Geothermal development begins with surface studies and the preparation of well pads, followed by exploratory drilling, and then, if all previous steps are successful, the construction of power plants. Geothermal power plants concentrate steam from different sites through a pipeline system and transmit generated electricity to the national grid. Geothermal energy involves various ancillary infrastructures, including access roads, water provision for drilling, as well as housing, catering, and health facilities for workers, engineers, and managers (Greiner and Klagge 2024). Geothermal development thus greatly impacts the living conditions of people – presenting both challenges and opportunities for local communities (Greiner et al. 2023). Livestock herding and health may be particularly disrupted by associated vehicle traffic, pipelines, and sulphur dioxide and other emissions (Hughes and Rogei 2020).

Although Baringo-Silali is still in the exploratory stages of drilling, its estimated potential is about 3000 MW.7 http://www.gdc.co.ke/baringo.php To access drilling sites, the existing road network was improved and more than 100 kilometres of feeder roads, as well as a water-provisioning system, were constructed. Once sufficient steam is secured, the wells will be sold or leased to either KenGen or private independent power providers to construct power plants and feed electricity into the national grid. Recent conflicts – often resulting in roadblocks – mainly concern job opportunities and salary-related complaints, specific CSR measures, and compensation for the transfer of communal lands for infrastructural developments. The latter has not yet occurred and compensation payments regarding the use of communal land are still pending. Further consequences remain to be seen when the completed pipeline systems begin to obstruct the movement of cattle, once geothermal electricity is produced, and when the first profits start to be made.

The most important community benefits so far provided by GDC include a water provisioning system, for both humans and livestock, job opportunities, and improvements to local schools. However, the frequent drying up of the water supply – which is directly linked to drilling activities – has led to resentment and protests among affected populations (Greven 2023). Despite its relatively early stages, geothermal developments have contributed to a local land rush, particularly along newly-built roads (Greiner et al. 2021), as well as – at least at times – to intensifying ethnicized conflicts between the Pokot and Turkana. These ethnic conflicts are owed to the fact that both groups claim ownership of the Silali geothermal site, which is located on the border between Baringo and Turkana County (Greiner 2020). As a result, representatives from Turkana, including the County government, have demanded their share of both short- and long-term benefits, including financial revenues, once electricity generation begins.