Local learning and capability building through technology transfer: experiences from the Lake Turkana Wind Power project in Kenya

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate in innovation and development studies on renewable energy projects and their contributions to sustainable industrialization through the accumulation of innovation capabilities. Based on a case study of a large wind power project in Kenya, this research explores technology transfer and interactive learning processes to accumulate local capabilities. The study emphasizes the multiplicity of actors involved in complex infrastructure projects and explores the nature of their relationships and interactions through the research question: What are the opportunities and limitations for local learning and capability building through technology transfer in large renewable energy infrastructure projects? Identifying interactions across multiple phases of the Lake Turkana Wind Power project, the results show that multiple loops of interactions foster better local-learning opportunities. Wider project learning and learning for sustainable industrialization require deliberate investments to build collective capabilities.