Italian Investor’s Biofuel Project Sparks Kenyan Opposition
This article is for subscribers only.
Kenyan conservation groups are opposing the biofuels project of an Italian businessman, saying the proposal to produce energy from jatropha may cause environmental damage.
Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority has scaled back a plan by Luciano Orlandi, the owner of renewable energy company Nuove Iniziative Industriali Srl, to develop a 50,000 hectare plantation of jatropha, a non-edible plant that would be used to produce 150,000 tons of biodiesel for clients led by Swedish retailer IKEA. The Kenyan agency said July 9 the project “may not enhance sustainable development.”