Local solar refrigeration firm bags energy award

Kenyan refrigeration service provider Solar Freeze is among the winners of this year’s Ashden prize, awarded to organisations offering clean energy solutions in low-income countries.

Solar Freeze won the Humanitarian Energy Award for providing sustainable and affordable refrigeration service for food and medicine in refugee camps during the awards ceremony held on the sidelines of the ongoing COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

Kenya’s KOKO Networks was recognised for supplying clean cooking fuel made from sugar industry waste, a project popularly known as ‘ethanol ATMs’.

SNV–Kakuma Market Based Energy Access Project, another Kenyan organisation, made the runners-up list for supporting local energy entrepreneurs in the Kakuma refugee camp in their cooking and lighting efforts.

The awards are given annually by Ashden, a charity organisation working with businesses, NGOs and public organisations to provide climate change solutions. Ashden has been supporting climate and energy innovators from low-income countries and the UK since 2001.

Ashden CEO Harriet Lamb hailed this year’s award winners, noting that African innovations are breaking the ground for climate solution initiatives.

“At this year’s Ashden Awards, African climate pioneers really led the way in showcasing bold, brilliant and ground-breaking initiatives – across energy innovation, nature-based solutions and sustainable agriculture,” said Ms Lamb.

kmwangi@ke.nationmedia.com