Zambia’s first biomass plant coming

ZAMBIA will have its first biomass plant in Luapula that will generate an initial 36 megawatts of electricity by December next year, AfriEnergy Ventures Limited company official Surendranath Reddy has revealed.

A biomass-fired power plant produces electricity and heat by burning materials such as mill residues, forest resources, grass, and farm waste which are heated in a boiler and converted into power (electricity).

Speaking to Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa early this week, Mr. Reddy said AfriEnergy, which is an Asian company, will construct 10 biomass power plants in the province.

The venture will provide jobs to about 15, 000 people, both in direct and indirect employment with the first plant set for operation in December 2018.

Mr. Reddy said each plant would require grass and farm waste which would be converted to generate power.

He said people in the province would have an opportunity to do business with the company once it started its operations as they would be expected to gather grass which they will be selling to the company.

He said the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA) was expected to conduct its Environmental Impact Assessment on the project.

"We expect each power plant to create 1, 500 jobs for the rural populace. We will not encourage the cutting of trees. We only need grass and farm wastes. The people will collect the grass and sell to us at our depots. We are talking about 10 depots for all the 10 power plants.

"We have moved quite a bit since coming to Luapula two months ago. We have completed our pre-feasibility studies. ZEMA is now coming and then the feasibility studies will follow," said Mr Reddy.

He said the company had also made massive progress with ZESCO on the signing of the implementation agreement with Zambia's power utility company.

Meanwhile, Mr. Reddy has said the company had earmarked piloting of the first three biomass power plants in Mansa, Kawambwa and Mwense.

He said the construction of the three power plants would start in January, adding construction works would take 12 months to be completed.

"So by December next year, we should have the first biomass power plant running. We expect to produce the first 36 megawatts of power," he said.

And Mr. Chilangwa who expressed happiness at the progress AfriEnergy had made, said the energy mix agenda that the PF Government was talking about was now becoming a reality.

Mr. Chilangwa said the country would no longer rely on hydro power but encourage more energy alternatives.

He said the people of Luapula would not be burning grass and farm waste which had a negative impact on the environment but convert the material into cash.

He saluted AfriEnergy for the progress the company had recorded in the implementation of the project.

"We always burn grass and farm waste every year. AfriEnergy is coming to convert that grass into cash and later into power. This is a big moment for Luapula Province especially that this project is coming with a lot of jobs for our people," Mr. Chilangwa said.