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Solar plant to save Nairobi warehouse Sh12 million yearly

GUY

Guy Lawrence, Director at Solarcentury in East Africa. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Solar energy firm Solarcentury East Africa has installed a 506 kWp hybrid solar photovoltaic (PV) plant at Africa Logistics Properties (ALP), a British warehouse development recently commissioned in Nairobi.

The solar systems mounted on the rooftop of ALP’s three warehouses consists of 1,840 solar PV panels and ten solar PV inverters that are expected to cut reliance on the energy from the grid and diesel generators.

They are expected to generate 800,000 kWh annually, saving the tenants of ALP up to Sh12 million per year.

“We are always keen to work with organisations who want to improve the sustainability of their operations, and we’re pleased to be able to help private companies to save money too,” said Guy Lawrence, Director at Solarcentury in East Africa.

Solarcentury is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor and the asset will be managed by ALP.

The installation at ALP took five months and is the seventh hybrid system the British company has designed and installed in the country.

“ALP’s mission of safeguarding the environment aligns with our own mission to alleviate climate change through promotion of clean energy for all,” said Mr Lawrence.

Previous successful undertakings by Solarcentury include Africa’s largest solar carport at Nairobi’s Garden City Mall and installation of three solar PV plants, with a total capacity of 1,154 kWp at the Nairobi-based International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe).

Others are 1 MWp solar PV at Williamson Tea at its Changoi Tea Farm, and installation of almost 1 MWp of solar roof system for London Distillers in Athi River, Kenya.

"Solarcentury were the obvious choice for our solar power partner in Nairobi given their successful track record on large scale projects in Kenya," said Richard Hough, Chief Operating Officer ALP.

Solar power is becoming a preference by corporates owing to its scalability which means a commercial scale solar system can be tailored to fit the roof space that is available.

Suitable roofs include those found on buildings like shopping malls, warehouses, factories, public buildings such as hospitals, and government offices.