Amu Power is a consortium of Gulf Energy on the technical side and Centum Investments who will do the funding side aims to be the only locally owned independent power producer and will produce 960MW  via coal power at the Kenyan coast.

The plant will be designed and built Chinese partners, supported by the ICBC, the world largest bank, with partial guarantees of the African Development Bank and built to World Bank standards for coal plants. The total cost of the project will be $2 billion and about  Kshs 36 billion will be spent in 21 months of construction around Lamu i.e. about Kshs 1.8 billion in a county that has an annual budget of Kshs. 1.6 billion

The backers are trying to work with the local community where there’s a local unemployment problem; they will need, train, and employ local certified welders plumbers, masons, bricklayers etc. Amu is planning to lease land from the Kenya Ports Authority in Kwasasi on the mainland (not on any of the Lamu islands) for their 100-acre plant that they will operate for 25 years. Coal plants are always set up next to large bodies of water and they plan for excess water they desalinate to be shared with the town people.

The Intention is to use coal from Kitui, Kenya once production there starts but the plant will be built to use South African grades of coal that may be imported in the interim. The founders say coal is necessary for industrial growth to a scale that hydro and renewable energy can’t match. South Africa is 94% powered by coal, the US 43%, China 81% and India 68%.