Solar plant on Kenya factory roof is largest in East Africa

United Aryan EPZ Ltd (UAL), one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s apparel manufacturers, recently inaugurated its brand new 1.8MWp rooftop solar plant in Kenya, making it the largest operational rooftop solar facility in East Africa.

The 1.8MWp solar plant consists of 3,334 solar panels and has an annual generation capacity of 2.3GWh. It should reduce the factory’s carbon emissions by 33,100 tonnes, the equivalent to the CO2 absorbed by more than 64,500 trees.

Pankaj Bedi, UAL chairman, said they have set an ambitious target for implementing global environmental best practices and improving sustainability by 2028. “This includes switching to green manufacturing to protect the environment, improving work conditions, refining corporate governance and better health, safety and social standards by working closely with the communities we operate in.”

Amit Bedi, UAL Managing Director: “With our 1.8MW solar PV plant, we have achieved the first step in reaching our ambitious targets, and we are very proud to do our part to reduce our energy costs while protecting the environment.” 

Sakkie van Wijk, Chief Commercial Officer at Solarise Africa which provided the commercial solution to finance the project said the new solar plant will see United Aryan reduce its electricity cost by an estimated 72% in the first month. The solar plant will save the company around $5.3million over the course its lifecycle.

“We have been proud to partner with United Aryan on their sustainability journey – from their first move towards sustainable washer systems to this significant shift towards renewable energy, as well as future clean energy expansions,” said van Wijk.

The engineering, procurement and construction were managed by Premier Solar Solutions, the Kenyan subsidiary of Starsight Premier Energy Group.

This article originally came from ESI Africa