The World Bank has excluded coal from its $5 billion funding to boost power supply in Kenya and six Africa countries.
Speaking to Bloomberg World Bank spokesman for Africa Phil Hay said the money would be used to finance power generation from wind, geothermal, gas and hydro.
“It will help provide affordable, reliable and sustainable energy to Africans. This includes investments in rural energy as well as in generation, transmission and distribution for on-grid access,” he said.
The bank on Wednesday announced funding for power generation in Africa that is championed by US President Barrack Obama.
Apart from Kenya, other nations are Ethiopia, Tanzania, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria.
President Obama launched the $16 billion plan last year while on tour in South Africa.
The US Government is expected to fund the project with $7 billion over five years while the rest and technical assistance will be sourced from the private sector.
AMBITIOUS PLAN
The plan is to increase local power generation by 5,000 megawatts over 40 months starting last September.
The Kenyan Government has identified coal as a source of energy alongside geothermal, natural gas and wind.
The search for a contractor to set up a coal power plant in Lamu County which can produce between 900 and 1,000 megawatts is ongoing.
The World Bank’s exclusion of coal from its power projects is seen as a result of last year’s declaration that it would stop financing such projects.
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