Amu Power pays bloggers to visit Lamu. Bloggers write positive articles.
Lamu coal plant proponent Gulf Energy (which alongside Centum constitutes Amu Power) pays bloggers to visit Lamu
Posts are rampant with inaccuracies and falsely paint pro-coal justifications as facts (fact checking very difficult given number of inaccuracies).
On the Potentash blog, a post “Here’s what you need to know about Amu Power Plant Project” dismisses all concerns and declares, “This project promises to solve some of the problems associated with energy generation in Kenya. Once it commences, it will also create employment for the locals. In the long run, the power plant will lead to the growth of the economy.”
It is essential to come up with an alternative source of power that will cushion the citizens from the aforementioned problems. This is where Amu Power Plant Project comes in. This project aims at exploiting the coal energy for the generation of electricity to complement geothermal and hydrothermal sources of energy in Kenya. Coal has been considered because it is the cheapest source of energy. In addition, it is not affected by the vagaries of weather. The Ministry of Energy plans to construct two coal fired power plants in Kenya, one in Lamu and the other in Kitui.
Such a large scale project is capable of generating some adverse environmental and social impacts, but with the plans in place, these issues will be resolved.
Coal power plants provide the most stable and reliable source of energy. This project promises to solve some of the problems associated with energy generation in Kenya. Once it commences, it will also create employment for the locals. In the long run, the power plant will lead to the growth of the economy.
