"Land battles, tender wars and cost secrets: Did Kenya bite off too much with energy projects?"

When former President Mwai Kibaki flagged off Kenya’s long-term development blueprint 10 years ago, the addition of 5000MW to the national grid became one of the main drivers for success of the initiative. Against that backdrop, the Kenyan government has embarked on several ambitious energy projects to boost production, with help from the private sector...They have generated powerful, mixed feelings from Kenyans. Projects have sparked vicious land disputes over compensation of original inhabitants, and corporate battles. They have caused concerns over pollution and choking off other viable income-earning ventures. The efficiency of some projects has been questioned, as well as costs hidden from taxpayers...

After the tender battle, all appeared set for construction [of AMU Power's coal] project to commence in September 2015. But an activist group, Save Lamu, teamed up with other civil society players and a section of residents in the coastal town to oppose the project, setting the stage for a make-or-break battle. The group moved to the National Environment Tribunal (NET) in November 2016, opposing the Nema approvals granted to Amu Power for the Sh200 billion job. Save Lamu argued that coal is the dirtiest form of energy and it would pollute both the air and the Indian Ocean...

Kenwind’s project has also been rocked by land compensation disputes. A section of Lamu residents sued Kenwind and Electrawinds in 2015, claiming that their project was set to evict without compensation 8,000 members of the minority Bajun and Sanya communities occupying the disputed 3,200 acres. The battles have led to delays in project implementation since 2015...Another clean energy project that faced opposition from residents over land allocation was the Sh15 billion Kinangop Wind Park...It collapsed under the weight of the land battles. The project shareholders formed a special purpose vehicle — Kinangop Wind Park Limited. Following a court ruling in Nakuru that revoked Kinangop Wind Park’s licences, the firm decided to pull the plug as there it was making no headway in negotiations with the local community. [Also refers to Lake Turkana Wind Power]