Kenya Energy: Umoja Rubber, Another Successful Solar PV Project Under Spenomatic Solar’s Belt

Spenomatic Solar has set the objective of helping businesses become more efficient by providing sustainable solutions in the energy and environmental sectors. In this context, Spenomatic, the leading EPC provider of solar photovoltaic solutions in East Africa elaborated a 1300 KW (1.3 MW) grid tied solar PV solution for Umoja Rubber, a renowned footwear manufacturer in Mombasa.

Being such a new player in the industry, it was a huge achievement for Spenomatic Solar to be awarded this project, especially given its magnitude. By this point, the company had already successfully commissioned one project, with two still being installed, making the Umoja Rubber project its fourth to be implemented. Even though Spenomatic had only been in the industry for a short time, the fact that such a renowned manufacturer opted to partner with them spoke volumes for the quality of their work.

The Umoja Rubber project was Spenomatic Solar’s first solar PV project in Mombasa, which came with a new set of logistical challenges to be faced. With the end goal of becoming the largest solar PV solution provider across Africa, expanding within Kenya was the first step in the right direction and a great learning opportunity for Spenomatic.

It is well known that a footwear manufacturer uses tremendous electric loads for processing. Over the last few years, the cost of power in Kenya has gone up, thereby increasing the cost of producing footwear. However, Umoja Rubber targets the common Kenyan, and has huge demand for simple rubber slippers costing no more than 110 Kenyan shillings (approximately USD 10). In addition, because the cost of raw materials is far lower in China than in Kenya, Chinese imports entered the market with very competitive pricing, making it more affordable than locally manufactured shoes. The lack of availability for cheaper raw materials meant Umoja Rubber had to look for alternate ways of cutting costs (electricity being the major growing one).

Spenomatic’s solar photovoltaic solution instantly slashed power costs by 27% in the first month alone. The company supplied a state-of-the-art, high-end solar PV solution, built by using only Tier 1 rated components, so that the long-term benefits of lower costs of production could also be enjoyed by the end user. These efforts have been recognized by the Energy Management Committee, awarding Umoja Rubber with a trophy for implementing renewable energy to facilitate production at the Energy Management Awards in 2021.

Taking on this project meant building a technical team with the same knowledge and skill level as its core team, which offered Spenomatic the opportunity to give back to the community by educating, training, and empowering the workforce.

As for Umoja Rubber, the impact of this installation resulted in 1.95 million units of electricity generated by their solar PV plant annually, thereby allowing a savings of up to 30% per annum on electricity costs. Such savings means lower cost of goods and ultimately lower prices for the end consumer, which in this case is the average Kenyan citizen. The long-term impact on a Kenyan citizen means greater household income, as a basic necessity such as rubber slippers has now reduced in price. The trickledown effect of such an installation can greatly impact Kenya’s standard of living as a whole.

In the larger picture, this plant will now reduce over 40,000 tons of CO2 over its lifetime. Given the success of the project coupled with the rate at which manufacturers are onboarding solar PV solutions, this will lead to an overall drastic improvement in Africa’s carbon footprint. Moreover, if manufacturers pass on the lower cost of goods sold to the end user, overall standards of living for the average African will increase as well.

ABOUT SPENOMATIC SOLAR: Established in Kenya in 1998, Spenomatic is a group of over 200 technocrats from diverse fields, contributing to empower Africa in the energy and environment sector. It is the current market leader in providing solar photovoltaic solutions in East Africa, with more than 50 million KW of cumulative energy installations across the group, and is slowly expanding its base across the continent. For more information, please click on the video below and visit: https://spenomaticsolar.com.

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