EaaS company receives 3 nominations in 2 categories of the AFSIA Solar Awards 2022.
ohannesburg, 2 June 2022 – Solarise Africa, a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service company, has been nominated for “African Solar Company Of The Year” in the AFSIA Solar Awards 2022. The nominees were selected by a jury of professionals from across the solar energy sector in Africa.
African Solar Company Of The Year Nominee
“We are honoured to be nominated,” said Jan-Albert Valk, CEO and Co-Founder at Solarise Africa. “What started in 2017 as three individuals with a shared vision is now a high performing team of 24 employees from 12 nationalities fluent in 30 languages working from six locations. We have 23 projects installed in Africa and 64% of our total footprint has been commissioned since June last year alone, clearly illustrating the company’s growth trajectory. Plus, we have a strong portfolio of projects currently under development and an even greater healthy and diverse pipeline”.
The Solarise Africa PV footprint includes:
- Fighting climate change by powering one of the largest recyclers in Africa
- Advancing health care through an installation at a health clinic in Rwanda
- Improving food security by powering resource-conscious fish farms in Kenya
- Supporting education through a renewable energy solution at the largest privately run university in Rwanda
- Strengthening sustainable fashion by powering a top apparel maker in East Africa
Valk continued, “we have established ourselves as a reliable and credible partner in Africa and are fully committed to providing reliable and affordable renewable energy for businesses in Africa, now, and for many years to come”.
Solarise Africa also received two nominations in the “C&I Solar Project Of The Year” category:
C&I Solar Project Of The Year Nominee: Recycling firm switches to solar PV to help tackle climate change
“At Solarise Africa, we believe in collaboration and working with our partners to help Africa thrive,” said Valk. “A very good example of this is one of our nominations – our project with Extrupet, one of the largest recyclers of plastics in Africa, that commenced operation of their 1.3MWp solar power plant at the end of last year.”
Extrupet recycles more than four million PET bottles every day at their Wadeville facility in South Africa. Their new1.3MWp solar plant has an annual generation capacity of 2GWh and will reduce its carbon emissions by 1,800 tonnes every year, which is equal to the carbon sequestered by just under 31,000 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.
“Not only is solar energy better for the environment, but it will also bring down electricity costs an estimated 30% from the first month and savings of around R130 million to R140 million over the course of the lifecycle of the solar plant,” said Sakkie van Wijk, Chief Operating Officer at Solarise Africa.
“Climate change is the greatest existential threat ever faced by humanity,” said Vijay Naidu, joint managing director at Extrupet. “It is the duty of every organisation to change the way it does business and adopt eco-friendly practices to help reduce climate change. Being one of the pioneering recycling companies in Africa, everything we do is dedicated to building a greener tomorrow. We are always looking at new ways to reduce energy expenditure and decrease our impact on the environment, and a switch to solar energy was the next logical step towards a sustainable future.”
C&I Solar Project Of The Year Nominee: Largest Rooftop Solar PV in East Africa
“We are also very proud of our second nomination,” continued Valk. “Earlier this year we inaugurated the largest rooftop solar PV plant in East Africa. The 1.8MWp solar plant consists of 3,334 solar panels and has an annual generation capacity of 2.3GWh. It will reduce its electricity cost by an estimated 72% and will save the company around $5.3million over the course of its lifecycle. It will also improve its carbon footprint by reducing the factory’s carbon emissions by 33,100 tonnes, the equivalent of the CO2 absorbed by more than 64,500 trees.”
“With our 1.8MW solar PV plant, we have achieved the first step in reaching our ambitious targets, and we are very proud to do our part to reduce our energy costs while protecting the environment,” said Amit Bedi, UAL Managing Director.
The AFSIA Solar Awards
”The high level and the number of applications show, once again, the vitality of the solar energy sector, which now attracts the biggest international players,” said Anita Otubu, Head of the Project Management Unit of the NEP, REA Nigeria and a member of the Awards jury. “Applications came from more than 20 different countries: a record for this competition. The AFSIA Solar Awards provides the perfect platform to recognize, confirm and show gratitude for great work being undertaken and accomplished in the renewable energy space.”
The winners will be announced during an exceptional event on June 23, 2022, at the Africa Energy Forum in Brussels.
About Solarise Africa
Solarise Africa is a pan-African Energy-as-a-Service company. They provide reliable and affordable decentralised energy solutions energy for businesses in Africa. Their smart financing solutions unlock possibilities and empower their partners to thrive and actively drive Africa’s progress. For more information, please visit www.solariseafrica.com. Watch the videos about the projects that were nominated for C&I Solar Project of the Year on their YouTube channel at https://bit.ly/SolariseYouTube
