Infrastructure

Mombasa Cement to Build 20MW Power Plant in Kilifi

The Vipingo power plant is projected to cost around Sh2.5 billion.

Updated on

August 27, 2024

The Mombasa Cement factory. PHOTO | FILE

Mombasa Cement is seeking regulatory approval to build a 20-megawatt (MW) power plant at its Vipingo factory in Kilifi to reduce energy costs.

According to regulatory filings, the plant, which will use solid fuels and a waste heat recovery system, is projected to cost approximately Sh2.5 billion.

The proposed power plant will generate 10MW of electricity using a waste heat recovery system and another 10MW from solid fuels.

The waste heat will be recovered from flue gases emitted during clinkerization and cement production at Mombasa Cement Limited Vipingo Unit.

“To generate electricity from solid fuels, the proposed project will utilize circulating fluidized bed combustion boiler technology,” the company said.

The Vipingo factory operates two clinker production lines, which generate heat during clinker production.

The new initiative aligns with a broader trend among cement manufacturers to reduce costs and ensure stable power supplies through self-generated energy.

“The objective of the proposed project is to generate electricity internally that will be used onsite in cement production at the Mombasa Cement Vipingo factory,” the company added.

The project covers the generation of 20MW of electricity, 10MW from a waste heat recovery (WHR) system and 10MW from solid fuels using Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion (CFBC) technology.

The Circulating Fluidized Bed Combustion system is a technology that involves suspending solid particles in an upward flow of gas or air. This “fluidization” process results in a highly efficient combustion, optimizing the mix of fuel and air.

Mombasa Cement joins Devki Steel Mills Limited, a subsidiary of Devki Group, in advancing green energy projects.

Devki is building a Sh260 million, 60MW wind farm in Kwale County.

The wind farm in the South Samburu group ranch in Kinango, off the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, will feature 38 turbines to feed the national grid.

“We are putting up a wind power project which will produce 65MW. This will position our group as a green energy company,” Devki owner Narendra Raval said.

The electricity generated will be fed to an existing nearby substation and power transmission grid within the Devki Steel Mills Limited Samburu plant premises.

Devki says the turbines will be “Vestas V90 models, each with a 3MW capacity, pitch-regulated upwind design, active yaw, and a three-blade rotor.”

Meanwhile, Bamburi Cement has embarked on constructing two solar PV plants as a strategy to meet up to 30% of its energy needs from solar power.

The first, a 14.5MW plant, will be at the company’s Mombasa factory, and the second, a 5MW facility, will be at the Nairobi grinding plant.