Kenyan courts halt $370 million sugarcane, ethanol project over environmental concerns

In Kenya, a $370 million sugarcane, ethanol and power project has been halted by the Malindi High Court because of environmental concerns. Opponents of the plans said that more than 350 species of wildlife were endangered by the 20,000 hectare sugar project. The plantation and manufacturing facilities are projected to create 20,000 direct and indirect jobs at the 8,000 tonne per day sugar mill, which will produce 6 Mgy of ethanol as well as generate power. The Delta-region project would increase Kenyan sugar production by 30 percent.

Kenya background

A plan to grow sugarcane for ethanol on 20,000 hectares in the Tana River Delta has prompted protests from conservation groups. The Mumias Sugar Company plans to establish a plantation, 34 MW power plant and an ethanol mill 80 miles north of Mombasa, and conservation groups said that up to 350 species of wildlife could be endangered by the project.

The Kenya Bio-Diesel Association has been formed to to promote jatropha-based biodiesel production. The association was established as an outcome of the 2008 National Bio-energy Conference in Nairobi. Jatropha has been used for many years in Kenya as a hedging plant.

Japan’s Biwako Bio-Laboratory said earlier this year that it would  invest $19.4 million in a jatropha biodiesel facility and jatropha plantations at an undisclosed location in Kenya. Production capacity was not disclosed. The Green Africa Foundation is coordinating the plantation effort in Biwako’s behalf. More than 500,000 seedlings have been planted in the Eastern Rift Valley, Coast and Nyanza provinces over the past year under Green Africa’s auspices. The provinces suffer from severe forest degradation and jatropha is being used to stabilize forest as well as produce farm income.

The Green Africa Foundation said that the EU decision to focus its biofuels target on sustainable biofuels will help, not hurt, the growth of the African biofuels industry. The Green Power jatropha biodiesel plant in Nairobi is attracting much attention from local farmers, as jatropha continues to be a hot topic across the continent.

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