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Africa's largest biogas power plant starts operation

Xinhua, August 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The largest biogas power plant in Africa has commenced its operations in southwest Kenya, three years after its construction began.

The Naivasha-based plant that has an installed capacity of 2.6 megawatts will now be connected to the national grid which will see the cost of electricity further come down.

The 7.5 million U.S. dollar project termed as Africa's first grid-connect Anaerobic Digester (AD) plant will reduce the amount government incurs buying diesel for its thermal plants.

Built by Tropical Power, the plant uses farm waste that is digested by micro-organisms feeding in the absence of oxygen to produce biogas.

Tropical Power chairman Mike Mason said during the launch late Thursday that plans are at an advanced stage for an agreement between them and electricity distributor, Kenya Power on the sale of electricity.

"Tropical Power will soon be converted to Biojoule Kenya Ltd which is an Independent Power Producer (IPP) and then sign an agreement with Kenya Power as well as the generation and distribution license for the project," Mason said.

He said that the 2.6 MW project was the first of four phases that will see the company also construct a 10 MW solar power project by 2016.

Mason noted that this technology was the first of its kind adding that the waste from the digester would be used as fertilizer and supplied to various flower farms in Naivasha.

He however called for a level playing field saying that tariffs that kept on changing were not good for the industry.

Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua said the plant will reduce carbon emissions by saving 5M litres of diesel annually that would have been used by an ordinary plant.

He said the demand for energy in Nakuru County in Kenya's fourth largest town was increasing by the day owing to the numerous developments that are currently being undertaken.

According to him, five real estates were being constructed while the county was completing approvals for the building of a convention centre that will all require sizeable amounts of electricity.

"Having been ranked as the fourth fast growing town in Eastern Africa the demand for power has continued to increase and that is why we support the venture to have this biogas power plant here," he said. Endit