EABL Channels Sh 22 Billion Towards Clean Energy

Clean energy is taking shape in Africa, the continent is making commendable efforts in regards to clean energy. Many governments and the private sector are embracing the replacement of fuel energy with green energy, multinational companies are also under pressure to embrace clean energy in order to avert environmental degradation.

Some of the renowned efforts are in the power sector where many countries are opting for geothermal energy to produce power, according to a report by the International Energy Agency, renewable energy will make up almost half of sub-Saharan Africa’s power generation growth by 2040.

East African Breweries and Limited (EABL), through its parent firm Diageo, has affirmed its commitment towards clean energy after it invested Sh 22 billion on solar energy, biomass power and water recovery at its three different plants in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

The firm will put Sh6.5 billion in a solar, water treatment and biomass equipment and another undisclosed amount will be pumped to cater for maintenance and operations.

The money will also go into putting in place new water recovery and purification facilities that would enable saving of 1.2 billion cubic liters of water a year.

EABL will now replace the heavy fuel oil used in production with renewable energy of biomass boilers with sourced renewable fuel made with locally wood chip, bamboo, and rice husks.

EABL will also have solar installations which are estimated to produce up to 10 percent of each brewery’s electricity demand.

EABL’s parent firm Diageo will use clean energy to cover in its six sites in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania as it targets to cut carbon emission by 42,000 tonnes a year and at the same time reduce the amount of water used in operations by 40 percent.

“The new investment will additionally deliver thousands of new green jobs across the entire supply chain, particularly in the supply of biofuels in Kenya and Uganda,” said EABL’s Group CEO, Andrew Cowan.

Ivan Menezes, chief executive Diageo said that the project could be one of the biggest single investments in addressing climate change issues across sub-Saharan Africa countries.

In a similar move, Ethiopia cement factories are also planning to replace carbon with a “wild weed” that would be processed into a biomass block and used as a source of fuel for the cement industries.

Featured Image Courtesy: BusinessDailyAfrica.com