Solarcentury has developed a number of landmark solar projects in Kenya, and will now be building East Africas largest solar rooftop system in the country. Not only that, but it will also be the largest solar system in Kenyas manufacturing industry, saving London Distillers huge amounts of money on its energy costs in the process.
The large hybrid system will have a capacity close to 1MWp, which will be sufficient to power London Distillers entire building in Athi River, Kenya, during daylight hours. It will work in parallel with the energy grid, or the buildings diesel generator.
It was a shrew investment from the company, as it should save London Distillers $180,000 on energy bills for at least the next 25 years, although it should only take six years to be fully paid for.
We are always looking for ways to improve the cost efficiency of our operations and protect the environment, and investing in solar presented us with a solution for both these ambitions, commented Mohan Galot, chairman of London Distillers. We worked with Solarcentury to review our long-term energy needs, and help us understand the most effective solar solution for our company.
And Solarcentury is not planning on hanging around, as the company said that it expects the system to be up and running by the end of this year. We are excited to be delivering the largest commercial rooftop solar system in East Africa, said Solarcentury director Guy Lawrence. This solar investment makes London Distillers a pioneer company in the manufacturing sector and also demonstrates a genuine commitment to reducing its environmental impact.
Kenya is becoming a popular location for the British company, as this will be the fourth hybrid system that Solarcentury will have developed in the country. Its not the first time that it has undertaken milestone projects in the country either, as a 1MWp solar project for Changoi Tea Farm in 2014, was the largest in East Africa at the time, and the $2.5 million project for Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology earlier this year, was the largest solar investment in Kenya to date.
This is the fourth solar hybrid project we are building in Kenya, commented Solarcentury spokesperson Sarah Allison. So our business in Kenya is certainly going strong, with a variety of projects roof, ground, carport, and a project involving 3 systems that will include solar + storage, for an insect research facility.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.