Sh180b coal powered plant pledges to use clean technology

Samples of coal deposits at Mathuki DC's office in Mui basin

The ground breaking ceremony for a 1050 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Lamu County is set to take place next month. This is even as the consortium continues to battle against fears of environmental degradation and community disenfranchisement from the plant.

Amu Power Company Limited - a consortium of petroleum firm Gulf Energy and investment firm Centum Investment- is expected to start works on the plant on October 14 when it expects to receive its land title deed. The company moved to assure the public that the project was well on course and would be completed on time.

Amu Power was awarded the contract a year ago as part of the Government’s blue-print for producing 5,000 MW power in the next two years.

The Sh180 billion project will be funded through equity and debt. Centum, who are co-sponsors of the project will raise the equity. The company noted that they have already term sheets with banks and are awaiting approval. It will be the largest private sector led infrastructure project in East and Central Africa, and is expected to be operational within 42 months of construction. “Based on our proposed project timeline, we can confirm that the project is on track,” said Amu Power CEO Francis Njogu.

But coal’s propensity to emit harmful green-houses gases to the atmosphere, coupled allegations of people being displaced to pave way for the plant has dampened the spirit of the project. While the project goes a long way in making Kenya power-sufficient, it also brings to question Kenya’s commitment to limiting the amount of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one is of the gases released when coal is burnt.

But the consortium stated that it would counter this problem by utilising what it described as clean coal technology. With clean coal technology, which will shield the environment from the harm of burning coal by turning the harmful emissions into either waste ash or using it to manufacture other products such as tarmac.

Chief Geologist at the Ministry of Energy Mr John Omenge said the company has the technology and that it would really implement it. Among the conditions for the company that would be awarded the tender to build the plant was to set up a clean-coal technology and install a desalination plant. “The key guideline of the World Bank Environment, Health and Safety Guidelines for Thermal Plants is that a project must leave the community better off than it found them,” he said.

The consortium has also undertaken a number of corporate social responsibility and promised to employ locals. According to Salome Munubi, National Land Commission (NLC) Director Valuations and Taxation, in accordance with the Land Act, the people who have been displaced by the plant will be compensated with land of similar value. It is only in the absence of land that the land will be compensated for money. Fifteen people have so far been compensated, according to Mrs Munubi. Only one person is yet to be compensated.