Four nuclear plants on table
Kenya plans to build and commission four nuclear power plants by 2030 with a combined capacity of as much as 4 000 megawatts to diversify its energy mix. The first facility would generate about 1 000MW and be operational by 2022, the Kenya Nuclear Electricity Board said in a statement published in the Nairobi-based Daily newspaper yesterday. The government has plans for an additional 5 500MW capacity to be added over the next 40 months, mostly from coal, geothermal sources and liquefied natural gas, to power economic growth at more than 10 percent annually from a projected 5.5 percent to 6 percent this year. There was a “need to mitigate the rising cost of fossil fuels for electricity generation and to satiate the ever-growing domestic and industrial energy demand”, Energy and Petroleum Secretary Davis Chirchir said. – Bloomberg
Fenxi coal mine deal expected
Kenya expected to sign an agreement with China’s Fenxi Mining Group before the end of December to develop coal mining projects on two blocks in the east of the nation, a senior government official said yesterday. Fenxi Mining had been chosen to develop Blocks C and D, but disputes with locals in the mining area about compensation and relocation delayed the deal being finalised. Kenya is hoping coal from the Mui basin, where Block C is estimated to contain a minimum of 400 million tons, will help save foreign exchange by reducing coal and oil imports. “I could put it that maybe before the end of this month we should be able to sign the document,” Energy and Petroleum Principal Secretary Joseph Njoroge said. – Reuters