Rukwa Coal to Power Project

This article is part of the CoalSwarm coverage of Tanzania and coal.
Sub-articles:
Category:Proposed coal plants in Tanzania Mbeya power station Proposed coal mines in Tanzania Mbeya mine Mchuchuma Coal Mine Existing coal plants in Tanzania Existing coal mines in Tanzania Coal mining companies and agencies in Tanzania Kibo Mining Coal transport and infrastructure in Tanzania International Information on Coal

The Rukwa Coal to Power Project is a proposed 300-megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station by Edenville Energy in Rukwa, Tanzania.

The project is separate from Kibo Mining's Mbeya Coal to Power Project, which was previously known as the Rukwa project.

Location

The map below shows the location of Rukwa, Tanzania, but not the exact location of Mkomolo power station.

Loading map...

{"type":"ROADMAP","minzoom":false,"maxzoom":false,"types":["ROADMAP","SATELLITE","HYBRID","TERRAIN"],"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","width":"600px","height":"500px","centre":false,"title":"","label":"","icon":"","visitedicon":"","lines":[],"polygons":[],"circles":[],"rectangles":[],"wmsoverlay":false,"copycoords":false,"static":false,"zoom":7,"layers":[],"controls":["pan","zoom","type","scale","streetview","rotate"],"zoomstyle":"DEFAULT","typestyle":"DEFAULT","autoinfowindows":false,"resizable":false,"kmlrezoom":false,"poi":true,"markercluster":false,"clustergridsize":60,"clustermaxzoom":20,"clusterzoomonclick":true,"clusteraveragecenter":true,"clusterminsize":2,"imageoverlays":[],"kml":[],"gkml":[],"searchmarkers":"","enablefullscreen":false,"scrollwheelzoom":false,"locations":[{"text":"","title":"","link":"","lat":-7,"lon":31.5,"icon":""}]}

Background

In January 2016 miner Edenville Energy agreed on a work program with engineering, procurement, and construction company Runh Power of China to advance Edenville's Rukwa coal-to-power project during the first quarter of 2016. The work program sought to expand on Edenville’s Lahmeyer Rukwa power plant feasibility study from 2015.

In February 2016 Tanzania awarded a coal mining license to Edenville Energy, which plans to invest US$176 million in an open cast coal mine at the Mkomolo area in the southwestern Tanzanian town of Rukwa. "After commencing coal mining activities in June 2016, the company plans to build a 300-megawatt power plant between 20 and 22 months after getting an environmental impact assessment certificate," the ministry said in a statement.

In May 2016 Edenville said it had completed the feasibility study for the power plant at Rukwa, but said it was finding it harder than expected to raise the money needed for the project as the company reported "a wider loss during 2015 due to higher impairments."

In September 2016 Edenville CEO Rufus Short said that the second stage of its environmental and social assessment would be completed in the fourth quarter of the year. If approved, the EISA would move into a third stage comprising detailed investigation and reporting. Regarding the size of the plnat, Short said, "We are reviewing all options to increase the potential of the project beyond the 120 MW power plant that was outlined in the power plant feasibility study, carried out by engineering company Lahweyer."

An August 2016 investor presentation described the project as 120 MW in size.

According to a February 2017 press report, Edenville Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Chinese hydropower company Sinohydro Corporation for codevelopment of the Rukwa project. Under the MOU, Sinohydro will be the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor for the project. The MOU is valid until July 19, 2018. The announcement also noted that Sinohydro had already carried out extensive review work on the project. Edenville will retain all its ownership rights and control of the coal deposit and will be responsible for the coal mine portion of the project along with the permitting and legal aspects of advancing the power plant.

According to the Edenville Energy website (December 2017), the EIA for the power plant is under way, and coal mining operations at Rukwa have begun. On June 25, 2018, Edenville extended the validity of its memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China's Sinohydro over the Rukwa coal project to December 2019.

In October 2018, the company submitted the Request for Qualification documents for the project to the Tanzania Electricity Supply Company (TANESCO), in line with the government’s new initiative regarding the development of independent power projects.

Project Details

• Sponsor: Edenville Power Tanzania Ltd
• Parent company: Edenville Energy
• Developer: Sinohydro Corp.
• Location: Mkomolo, Rukwa region, Tanzania
• Coordinates: -7, 31.5 (approximate)
• Status: Pre-permit development
• Gross Capacity: 120 MW
• Type:
• Start date:
• Coal Type:
• Coal Source: Rukwa coal deposit
• Source of financing: