Bamburi Cement Joins Solar Bandwagon to Slash Bills

Bamburi Cement is the latest major industrial operation to announce plans to generate its own power. The move is intended to reduce their power costs and to lessen the impact of outages.

Bamburi is turning to solar power, which is expected to account for 40 per cent of its total power supply once the project is complete

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE)-listed cement manufacturer has signed a power purchase agreement with MOMNAI Energy Limited to set up two solar plants adjacent to its Mombasa and Nairobi facilities.

Bamburi will purchase power generated from the two plants directly from MOMNAI Energy. The company plans to generate 14.5 megawatts at the Mombasa plant and 5 megawatts at the Nairobi plant.

The move is expected to save Bamburi over Ksh600 million per annum. Construction on the plants is slated to begin at the end of 2022 pending regulatory greenlights, with the project expected to be completed within a year.

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The switch to solar is also in line with Bamburi’s ambitions to achieve net zero carbon emissions.

“We are elated to be making this step towards switching to more affordable and clean energy that will not only lead to a significant reduction in power costs but also bring us closer to our goal of achieving Net Zero carbon emissions,” stated Miriam Ngolo, Bamburi’s strategy and business development director.

Bamburi is the latest in a long line of manufacturers who have initiated plans to generate their own power in a bid to reduce reliance on Kenya Power. Kenya Power has faced criticism for operational inefficiencies and flawed power purchase agreements blamed for high power costs.

In response to long-running complaints over the power costs, the State in January 22 effected a 15 percent reduction on electricity tariffs.

Solar has been the preferred option for many firms keen on generating their own power.

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