Leading African Commercial and Industrial (C&I) solar power provider, Starsight Energy, last week announced the completion of a 950kW solar system for the Big Bottling Company plant in Ogun State, Nigeria. This installation is Starsight’s largest solar solution in Nigeria to date.
The completion of the project by Starsight Energy comes after the solar company last week concluded an acquisition of Premier Solar Group in Kenya, as part of its East African expansion drive.
The Big Bottling Company’s Nigerian plant produces Big Cola, Big Orange, and other popular Nigerian drinks. The beverages company has planned to double the Nigerian plant’s production rate, which requires more energy and diversification of its energy supply. Starsight Energy was approached to design a solution that would ensure the plant has sufficient energy. Utilizing the available roof space on the Big Bottling plant, Starsight’s engineering team designed a rooftop solar solution that is fully integrated into the plant’s existing natural gas power infrastructure.
Reducing gas usage and offsetting CO2
The solar energy system will offset the customer’s gas consumption during peak solar production, thereby enabling the plant to reduce its gas usage. The system will help Big Bottling Company offset 11,743 tons of CO2 over the project’s ten-year lifetime. These savings will help the company keep its commitment to protecting the environment.
Prahlad K. Gangadharan, CEO of Big Bottling Company, commented, “we were motivated to expand production at our primary Nigerian plant in a sustainable way and Starsight have delivered an excellent solution. Their system integrates into our existing power infrastructure and was designed, installed, and brought online in just five months. We look forward to generating green energy and reducing our carbon emissions, and we know we can rely on Starsight’s lifetime service guarantee.”
Tony Carr, Starsight Energy CEO, added, “this project demonstrates the scale at which Starsight can design and deploy solar solutions for industrial clients. Whether it’s a 100% solar or hybrid system, our systems guarantee seamless integration, 99.9% uptime, and significant reduction in CO2 emissions. We are proud of our world-class engineering team for designing and deploying this large-scale solar solution, and we look forward to installing similar systems for our industrial clients in Nigeria and Ghana, as well as in our new markets in Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda.”
