Investors are placing bids for Kenya’s tender for a garbage-powered plant beginning the first week in December. The Energy Ministry will invite investors to set up garbage processing machines that use methane gas to then power specially designed generators to produce electricity.
"We have been having issues with some city councilors that have held up the tendering, but we have decided to go on next month," said Ministry of Energy PS Patrick Nyoike. He said the power plant is not tied to the relocation of the current garbage dump site from Dandora to Ruai, which was said to be the case before.
Some councilors have opposed the project saying the relocation should take place first. The government is seeking to generate at least 40MW from methane generated by garbage within the Nairobi City Council’s (NCC) jurisdiction. "The processing plant will not necessarily be set up where the garbage dump site is," said Nyoike.
The project is expected to be one of the major renewable power projects in Kenya. It will borrow heavily from that of Durban City, in South Africa, which also uses garbage to power generators that produce electricity.