Strathmore University has installed a 600 kilowatt solar power project on its roof top, using 70 per cent of this power to provide for its electricity needs and feeding 30 per cent to the national grid, enabling it to save Ksh2 million ($23,500) in monthly electricity costs.

The institution is the latest in the country to opt for solar power to save on rising electricity costs, after Williamson Tea installed a 1MW project to power one of its tea factories in Kericho in June.

Others are the United Nations complex in Gigiri which generates 500 kilowatts and Uhuru Flowers in Laikipia County whicht generates 80kw.

The Strathmore power project was built at an estimated cost of $1.6 million through concessionary financing from the Co-operative Bank of Kenya. The cost is expected to rise when the project is scaled up to 1MW.

The project effectively makes the university the first fully carbon neutral university in sub-Saharan Africa. “The investment is expected to pay for itself in about six years.

After that, Strathmore will enjoy large savings on their power bills,” said Raul Figueroa Bio, the executive director of Questworks, the project developers.

The project offers additional evidence of how companies and large institutions with limited land but expansive rooftops can mount solar panels and cut power costs.

Solar power project developer Guy Lawrence of East AfricanSolar, the company that executed the Williamson Tea and Uhuru Flowers projects said several companies in Nairobi’s Industrial Area have expressed interest in utilising rooftops for solar generation.

Among the ones likely to come online soon will be a 1MW solar project by the upcoming Garden City Retail Mall on the Thika Superhighway.

In the past week, Mentor Management, the company that is developing the mall, received Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) certification for the Garden City Retail Mall and its other property.

Leed is a certification programme developed by the US Green Building Council, aimed at encouraging environmental responsibility and the efficient use of resources in buildings.

“The ingenuity in design of the commercial ‘green’ buildings will save tenants up to 30 per cent in electricity costs and 40 per cent in water use, as well as leading to long-term savings of over 20 per cent in maintenance and service charges,” said Elizabeth Chege, Leed accredited professional for building design and construction, and CEO of Web Ltd.

Garden City Retail is a 32-acre development that will house a 50,000 square metre retail centre, over 420 apartments and town houses, commercial offices and a three acre central park open to all.

The Garden City project has been recognised as a flagship project of Kenya’s Vision 2030, a development blueprint that seeks to transform Kenya into a middle income country by 2030.

The first phase of development will open for business in late 2014, according to the developers. Garden City will be home to over 100 major local and international retail brands, many of them opening their flagship stores in Kenya for the first time.

Stores like Nakumatt and South Africa’s Game have already signed up as the anchor tenants. In this initial phase, the developers will also make 80 residential apartments and houses available for purchase.