Solarise Africa, a pan-African energy-as-a-service company, has been nominated for “African Solar Company of The Year” award in the AFSIA Solar Awards 2022. The nominees were selected by a jury of professionals from across the solar energy sector in Africa.

“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 company’s 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: 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 1,3 MWp solar power plant at the end of last year.”

Extrupet recycles more than four million PET bottles every day at its Wadeville facility in South Africa. Their new 1,3 MWp solar plant has an annual generation capacity of 2 GWh and will reduce its carbon emissions by 1800 tonnes every year, which is equal to the carbon sequestered by just under 31 000 tree seedlings grown for ten 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, the chief operating officer and co-founder of 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.”

“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 1,8 MWp solar plant consists of 3334 solar panels and has an annual generation capacity of 2,3 GWh. It will reduce its electricity cost by an estimated 72% and will save the company around $5,3 million 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 1,8 MWp 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 23 June 2022, at the Africa Energy Forum in Brussels.

Contact Solarise Africa, Phone 010 599-0322, info@solariseafrica.com, http://solariseafrica.com