Photovoltaic Power Station in Garissa, Kenya. (PHOTO: XINHUA)

China has always firmly supported Africa's sustainable development, and the two sides have collaborated on more than a hundred projects in the field of clean energy and green development.

As China and Africa embrace the new phase of development, their joint efforts on green energy cooperation, which is suitable for local conditions, will contribute to the "green recovery" of the post-pandemic African economy.

The world's first sisal biogas electricity plant

The tropical country of Tanzania is one of the world-renowned producers of sisal. As a hard fiber source, only between two and four percent of a sisal can be processed into usable fiber. Now, the sisal waste is used to produce biogas for electricity generation and organic fertilizer as well.

A biogas power plant is based in Hale town, Tanga region, northeast Tanzania. The plant, feeding on sisal waste, the first one of its kind in the world, is supported by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and jointly completed by the Chengdu Institute of Biology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and its German partner.

With designed installed capacity of 30 megawatts, it has met the electricity demand of Tanga region since its inauguration in 2008.

To date, sisal biogas power plants have been built in Katani, Mazind and other places in Tanzania, generating between three and five percent of Tanzania's electricity.

Apart from electricity, it is estimated that sisal waste from two processing machine can produce 350 cubic meters of liquid fertilizer and 40 tons of solid fertilizer per day. With sisal factories and biogas power plants, local villagers' living conditions have been improved.

Salum Shamte, former adviser to Tanzania's president, said that China's biomass energy technology has made huge contribution to Africa's energy development and more cooperation is expected to boost Africa's green development.

Biogas technology, which can generate electricity and control pollution, is suitable for promotion and application in developing countries. From Madagascar to Lesotho, from Benin to Cote d'Ivoire, Chinese biogas technology is taking root in Africa.

Water conservancy development project

About four hours' drive from Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the Thwake dam is under construction at the intersection of the Thwake and Athi rivers.

Being built by the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), it is a strategic water supply project for the large semi-arid area of Makueni county and surrounding regions, and comprises a multi-purpose dam for water supply, hydropower generation and irrigation development. Construction of the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta hailed the project saying that when completed it will boost the local economy through an irrigation plan, mitigate drought and be an answer to the perennial flood problems in the lowlands.

During the construction, ecological conservation and wildlife protection are of great importance. According to the CGGC, regulations were carried out on waste gas and wastewater discharge, waste recycle, noise control, use of environmentally friendly materials and biodiversity protection.

The project worked with the local authorities to guide the migration of hippopotamus, crocodile and other large animals within the project scope in advance, and put in place professionals for continuous monitoring.

"Our project does not affect the survival of wild animals, rather, creates better conditions for their reproduction," said a local environmental expert.

According to her, local communities still rely on rainfall from the short rainy season, river water and unstable solar power supply. "We are all looking forward to the completion of the dam, bringing us sufficient hydropower resources," she said.

Breakthrough achieved in green industry

Nigeria is the world's largest cassava producer, with Benue state producing the most. In 2020, a China-invested biotech company was established in this state to produce medical, industrial and edible ethanol from cassava.

As the largest ethanol plant in Nigeria, it can produce 70,000 tons of ethanol per year and 140,000 tons per year in the second phase, which is expected to generate 10 million USD of annual tax revenue for the state.

In order to prevent environmental pollution from the plant's waste water, the Chinese enterprise invested 10 million USD to build a sewage treatment system. It was a breakthrough for Nigeria's pursuit of a green industry, said Dondo Ahire, Benue State Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment.

The waste from the ethanol plant can be processed into organic fertilizer or produce biogas, with an annual output of 23 million cubic meters, equivalent to more than 30,000 tons of high-quality raw coal.

"I could never imagine that even cassava residue can be processed into organic fertilizer!" said local farmer Joseph, who no longer worries about affording fertilizer.

The project has boosted the local economy by increasing farmers' incomes and promoting industrialization, said Benue Governor Samuel Ortom, and it offered 1,000 local jobs for its construction and trial operation alone.