Solarcentury joins with local Kenyan company East African Solar Group Ltd to establish commercial solar offer for East African businesses

Solarcentury, one of the world’s longest standing solar companies, has joined forces with local Kenyan company East African Solar Group Ltd to establish Solarcentury in East Africa.

The new company, headed up by Dr Dan Davies, a founder of parent company Solarcentury, has been active in the region from its Nairobi office since June 2013. The company will meet the growing demand for solar from East African businesses looking to reduce their reliance on costly diesel power. Replacing fossil energy with solar electricity will also enable businesses to cut their dependency on national energy grids, which are struggling to meet demand from East Africa’s power-hungry burgeoning economies. 

Solarcentury in East Africa combines Solarcentury’s British engineering excellence and experience of delivering, operating and maintaining solar installations with local industry experience and insight provided by solar industry expert Guy Lawrence, former CEO of East African Solar. Lawrence, a successful local entrepreneur, was responsible for delivering Kenya’s first commercial solar system and is a regular industry commentator on solar, with international energy sector experience. A local team of seven will work alongside Davies and Lawrence to deliver solar projects throughout East Africa.

Dr Dan Davies, Director of Solarcentury in East Africa comments, “Since opening the office in Nairobi almost 18 months ago, we have made significant inroads into the solar market in Kenya, with two sizeable projects under our belts. Now, working with Guy Lawrence, we have an even stronger solar offering that we believe will appeal to many businesses in East Africa. Government support for renewables in this region is growing – it’s encouraging that in Kenya, for example, the Government’s Kenya Vision 2030 recognises the opportunity for renewable energy to support economic growth and the need for the country to switch to more sustainable energy sources.”

Solarcentury’s Nairobi office represents the company’s long-term investment in Kenya and the wider region, supported by the understanding that the falling cost of solar makes it an ever more attractive investment.

Guy Lawrence, Director of Business Development at Solarcentury in East Africa comments, “Joining Solarcentury creates a highly competitive offering which is already proving appealing to businesses serious about cutting their energy bills and carbon emissions by reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. Solar is especially beneficial for high energy users such as those in the tea, flower, horticulture and manufacturing sectors where high energy costs can reduce their global competitiveness.”

Solarcentury has 15 years’ experience installing solar throughout Europe, and more recently in South Africa and Latin America. In 2014, Solarcentury helped develop a DFID funded- initiative to promote skills training in Kenya and will continue to contribute to the evolution of the solar industry in Kenya. The company also completed a 1MWp solar farm for Williamson Tea, a respected tea grower with a long heritage in Kenya. Solarcentury is also building the largest solar car port in Africa for Garden City, a new retail complex in Nairobi.

Looking ahead to 2015, Solarcentury is aiming to develop local supply partners to stimulate employment in Kenya.