21 December 2022: Sustainable energy developer Safi Power has completed a 400kWp rooftop solar PV installation at the Coastal Bottlers plant in Mombasa, helping the soft drinks bottler to transition one of its PET production lines to a cleaner and more affordable source of energy.
The project, funded by Spark Energy Services (Spark), is expected to generate c.600MWh of renewable energy a year, leading to more than 8,000 tonnes of avoided greenhouse gas emissions over the project’s lifetime and a like-for-like reduction in the company’s power costs of over 25%. The installation is the second of three phases of the project, with the first phase – commissioned in August 2020 – seeing the transition of Coastal Bottlers’ administrative block and wastewater treatment plant to solar power, enabling the company to avoid 6,720 tons of CO2 emissions.
In the latest phase, Coastal Bottlers, which has been operating in Kenya for the last 60 years, employed Nairobi-based Safi Power to identify and implement an on-site power generation solution at its premises near Mombasa to reduce carbon emissions and streamline operating costs.
The project was made possible courtesy of a financing agreement between Safi Power and Spark, an energy finance platform designed by climate and impact fund manager, Camco, to support energy efficiency and captive solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector.
Through the agreement, Spark provides development partners such as Safi Power with 100% upfront financing for the installation of on-site renewable energy and energy efficiency equipment for C&I businesses. In doing so, the platform’s innovative business model supports the C&I sector as an engine for economic growth by enabling access to clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions for businesses that are both replicable and scalable, while also increasing the provision of high-skilled jobs in the region.
The Coastal Bottlers project is Spark’s largest funded installation to date, bringing the aggregate installed capacity of Spark-funded projects to 550kWp, in addition to the provision of multiple energy efficiency installations.
Camco’s Adam Fitzwilliam, who heads up Spark, said: “We are thrilled to work again with Safi Power on financing their sustainable energy pipeline. Supporting businesses such as Coastal Bottlers on their path to net zero is exactly why we initially established Spark, and we look forward to continued dialogue with Coastal Bottlers to help them become a regional leader in sustainability by further reducing their energy consumption and costs.”
Earlier this year, Safi Power completed a 90kWp solar rooftop installation with Spark funding at a paper manufacturing plant in Jula’s industrial area, near Nairobi.
David Kinyua, co-founder of Safi Power, said: ‘It’s been a rewarding relationship working with Camco’s Spark team, as off-balance sheet funding has been a challenge through the traditional commercial lending approach. Camco also brings international experience, especially on ESG reporting, which has helped Safi Power ensure its execution complies with best practice.”
Seth Adu-Baah, CEO of Coastal Bottlers, said: “This is a significant milestone for us as Coastal bottlers as we continue to drive and embrace innovation in every part of our business to reduce our carbon footprint.
“This second phase of the project, commissioned in October 2022, now adds our PET line, delivering even more combined impact. Transitioning a whole production line to solar energy brings us closer to achieving our ambitious goals to contribute solutions to climate change. We remain committed to doing business the right way to create a more sustainable and better-shared future in people’s lives, our communities and the planet.”
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About Spark Energy Services: Spark finances energy efficiency and captive solar projects in Sub-Saharan Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) sector, building a diversified and well-structured portfolio of clean energy projects across Africa with a strong ESG profile. The company was designed by Camco and is managed by the company from its offices in Accra, Johannesburg and Nairobi. For more information, visit: https://www.camco.fm/spark.
About Camco: Camco is a specialist climate and impact fund manager, leading the transition in emerging markets. We offer clean, secure investments, pairing the conscience of a development bank with the agility of a private company. Camco is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund and is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority. The company has offices in Accra, Auckland, Helsinki, Johannesburg, London, Nairobi, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto. For more information, visit: https://camco.fm.
About Safi Power: Safi Power is a Kenyan-owned regional alternative energy solutions developer. Headquartered in Nairobi, Safi Power has been creating customized solar and other renewable energy and energy efficiency solutions for East Africa’s commercial and industrial sector for four years, with a team that has a background of over 10 years in the renewable energy space. The company offers its clients a full suite of energy management services, from site feasibility, power consumption profiling and business case financial modelling, to fully financed project design, EPC, and ongoing operation and monitoring.
About Coastal Bottlers: Coastal Bottlers is one of Coca-Cola’s oldest bottlers in Kenya having started operation in 1962 as a small company in Mombasa Old town that delivered beverages to the colonial community on the coast of Kenya.
The plant runs several lines, including a returnable glass bottling line of 40,000 bottles/hour capacity, a canning line which is the only line in East and Central Africa with a capacity of 30,000 cans/hour and a PET (plastic bottles) line of 26,000 bottles/hour capacity.
The plant is ISO-certified and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)-certified. Due to its quality score being 100%, the company won Gold Award from Coca-Cola.
