The plan to set up a 45 megawatts (MW) garbage-powered electricity plant at the Dandora dumpsite has moved a step closer after Nairobi Metropolitan Services and KenGen approved a feasibility study findings giving a nod to the project.
However, the project will now be located in Ruai sewerage treatment plant following a court order last July to move Dandora dumpsite within six months.
KenGen said the proposal has already been submitted to government through the Ministry of Energy and is currently undergoing review for approval to implement the project and seek funding.
Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) and KenGen inked a deal to set up the plant in August, 2020.
Under the deal KenGen said the NMS will make available land within or around Dandora dumpsite in addition to solid waste, while KenGen will finance, develop, and operate the power plant.
Nonetheless, implementation of the project has been hindered due to the delay in completion of the feasibility study, which was to take six months.
The plant is expected to sustainably solve Nairobi’s garbage problem while also opening a new income stream for City Hall.
A year of planning
The plans to set up a waste-to-energy plant at Dandora was announced in January 2021.
Under the deal, NMS and KenGen said that street children will be hired to sort the garbage before it is taken to the factory.
“We’ve agreed with the ministry that they will build the factory and NMS will supply garbage,” Mr Badi said in January 2021, adding that the NMS will provide the land while KenGen will finance, develop, and operate the power plant.
In August 2020, KenGen advertised for expressions of interest from eligible consultancy firms to conduct a feasibility study for the waste-to-energy plant.
Some 2,500 tonnes of waste is deposited at the site daily. If the project succeeds, Nairobi will join Durban, South Africa, and Addis Ababa in Ethiopia in the league of cities that generate large-scale electricity from garbage.
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