A solid waste-to-energy start-up, Asticom Kenya has landed a Sh102.56 million grant to partly fund a 10-megawatt power plant in Nairobi’s Kibera slum.
Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) which is a multi-donor trust fund managed by African Development Bank (AfDB), has released the cash to cover the costs of the proposed project’s full social and environmental impact assessment and detailed engineering designs.
The grant will also help with legal advisory services as well as financial and transaction advisory services, AfDB said in a statement.
The Sh9.28 billion ($90 million) SEFA, which is focused on sustainable energy agenda in the continent, is funded by the governments of UK, Denmark, US and Italy.
The plant, which will be connected to the grid, will generate electricity from solid waste in the sprawling slum, one of the largest informal settlements in Africa.
The waste in the slum, estimated at 1,000 tonnes daily, will be first converted into biogas and fuel ethanol, helping boost social and health welfare in the crowded area where waste disposal and management amenities are overstretched.
The proposed waste-to-energy project would create jobs for residents who will be contracted to sort the waste.
Leah Tsuma, CEO of Asticom Kenya said last February the plant would, besides converting solid waste into electricity, purify sewerage into clean water.
The project had received a financial commitment to the tune of Sh1.31 billion ($12.7 million) from Climate Technology Initiative.
