Africa's First Grid-Connected Biogas Plant Powers Up
A commercial farm in Kenya has become Africa's first electricity producer powered by biogas to sell surplus electricity to the national grid, cutting the carbon emissions associated with oil-powered generation.
The Gorge Farm Energy Park in Naivasha produces 2 megawatts (MW) of electricity - more than enough to cultivate its 706 hectares (1,740 acres) of vegetables and flowers, and with sufficient surplus to meet the power needs of 5,000-6,000 rural homes.
The new plant generates not only electricity, but also heat for the farm's greenhouses, with fertiliser as a by-product.
Gorge Farm, approximately 76km (50 miles) northwest of Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is owned by the Vegpro Group, a leading East African exporter of fresh vegetables and its second largest exporter of roses.
Neil Palmer/CIAT