China’s clean energy investments are increasing rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, with major projects set to help light vast areas of the continent while contributing to tackling climate change.
From the Sakai photovoltaic power station in the Central African Republic and the Garissa solar plant in Kenya, to the Aysha wind power project in Ethiopia and the Kafue Gorge hydroelectric station in Zambia, China’s clean energy investments growing rapidly in Africa, China has implemented hundreds of clean energy, green development projects in Africa, supporting the continent’s efforts to tackle climate change The projects are seen as crucial at a time when climate change is of concern across the globe－including the recent global heat wave that has hit parts of North Africa and a drought that is devastating parts of the Horn of Africa. In addition, there is evidence of additional benefits of China’s investment in Africa’s green energy sector, with newly created jobs and training activities involving local staff. Liu Yichao, the business manager for China Jiangxi International Kenya who is in charge of several projects across East Africa, said the company has always been committed to improving the level of infrastructure and people’s well-being in Africa in many fields, including renewable energy.
“We operate in different construction sectors and we have implemented projects in Kenya, Ethiopia, China’s clean energy investments growing rapidly in Africa, Uganda and Tanzania in the East African region. China’s clean energy investments increasing Even though we are a construction company and have built infrastructure like bridges and hospitals in Africa, we also participate in setting up renewable energy facilities like hydroelectric dams and solar power stations,” Liu said. “One of our latest projects is the Koru-Soin multipurpose dam in western Kenya…. The objective is to build a comprehensive water conservancy project integrating flood control, water supply and irrigation functions,” he added. In May, the company, as the general contractor, signed the contract with Kenya’s National Water Harvesting and Storage Authority for construction of the dam. The project is valued at over $190 million, with a storage capacity of 93.7 million cubic meters. It will provide 72 million liters of water per day for domestic use, irrigate 2,570 hectares and generate 2.5 megawatts of hydropower to be added to the national grid. The Chinese company is also building the Mwache multipurpose dam in Kenya’s coastal Kwale County. Another major renewable project of Sino-African cooperation in East Africa is the 54.6 MW Garissa solar plant in eastern Kenya which is the largest grid-connected solar power plant in East and Central Africa.
Simon Gicharu, chairman of the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corp’s board of directors, said 147 new solar power plants are envisioned across Kenya, following the success of the Garissa solar plant. The project will target solar-intensive places such as Mandera, Lamu, Wajir, Tana River, Garissa and Turkana.”The Kenyan government will not rest on its laurels because the short-term results produced by the largest solar power plant in East Africa at Garissa are encouraging. The power plant has proved to be an exemplary project, with many environmental benefits. That is why we will now invest more in solar power projects,” Liu said that his company’s policy is to share knowledge and expertise on green energy with local technicians. When the company finished building the Garissa solar station, they handed it over to the Kenyan government after ensuring that it was up and running and well staffed. “Since the plant started operations, we continue to work with the client, who in this case is Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corp, by sending over technicians when needed. We also have had our technicians and engineers on site since construction started in 2017, and they have been sharing information with Kenyan engineers on setting up, running and troubleshooting at the plant,”
Source: This news is originally published by chinadaily