Unilever has invested Sh70 million in an 800kW solar power system at its Nairobi factory, joining a growing number of Kenyan manufacturers that are generating their own electricity to cut costs, as high-power prices squeeze factory margins and companies look for steadier energy bills. The system became operational in June. The factory produces goods for the Kenyan market and other regional markets, and energy accounts for a substantial share of its operating costs.
The solar plant is expected to supply about 30 percent of the factory’s electricity and save roughly Sh30 million a year in energy costs. Unilever says it also makes energy costs more predictable by reducing exposure to price swings in conventional energy. Together with an earlier switch from heavy fuel oil to biomass for the factory’s boilers, the company says the project has helped cut the plant’s carbon emissions by about 40 percent compared with its 2023 baseline, though it has not credited the full reduction to solar alone.
Luck Ochieng, managing director of Unilever East Africa, said using more renewable energy reduces emissions, manages costs and strengthens supply-chain resilience, benefits that can be passed on to consumers through cheaper products.
Unilever joins a list of manufacturers that have shifted to their own solar power, including Bidco, Simba Cement, Mabati Rolling Mills and British American Tobacco. Data from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) show Kenya’s captive power capacity, meaning plants built for a company’s own use, reached 630.1 megawatts in December 2025, up from 603.8 megawatts six months earlier. Solar accounted for 326.7 megawatts of that total, and EPRA issued 24 permits for generating or supplying own power between July and December 2025.
The trend poses a dilemma for the power sector. Solar supports Kenya’s clean energy transition, but it could reduce demand from some of Kenya Power’s most valuable customers. Kenyan manufacturers have long complained that high electricity prices hurt their competitiveness against producers in neighbouring and emerging markets.
