Business: Kenya
Key Facts
—Who. Carbacid Investments, a Nairobi-listed maker of carbon dioxide, runs solar panels at two plants.
—What. Panels rated 1,610 kilowatt-peak (peak output) made 1.72 million kilowatt-hours, about 27% of group electricity needs.
—Why. Solar lowers energy costs and hedges against rising electricity tariffs.
—Next. At its Kagwe plant, Carbacid plans 400 more kilowatt-peak and a 723 kilowatt-hour battery by end-2026.
Kenya’s Carbacid is adding solar and battery storage to cut how much grid power its carbon dioxide plants buy.
A factory that runs day and night worries about one bill above most others, the one for electricity. Carbacid Investments, a Nairobi-listed maker of carbon dioxide, is answering that worry with its own solar panels.
The company’s 2026 Sustainability Report says the panels covered about 27% of the group’s electricity needs in the year ended 31 July 2026. It calls solar a way to lower energy costs and hedge against tariff escalation, meaning future rises in the price of grid electricity.
For readers abroad, the case shows how a listed Kenyan industrial firm manages the cost of electricity. For investors who follow industrial shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya’s stock market, it adds a plan with measurable targets to our earlier story on Carbacid’s profit and dividend.
What the Solar Plants Deliver
Carbacid runs two plants, Kagwe and Sosiani, and both now carry solar panels. Together they hold 1,610 kilowatt-peak (kWp, the maximum output of the panels) of capacity.
Sosiani has 860 kWp, built in two phases. Phase 1 of 450 kWp was commissioned in February 2024, and Phase 2 of 410 kWp followed in February 2025.
Kagwe has 750 kWp, commissioned in August 2025 to support the company’s carbon dioxide recovery operations. It completed its first full 12-month cycle in July 2026.
In financial year 2025/26 the panels generated 1.72 million kilowatt-hours (kWh), about 27% of the group’s electricity needs. Since first commissioning they have produced over 2.45 million kWh.
The company says this avoided about 1,286 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, a unit that adds up all greenhouse gases. That figure counts Scope 2 emissions, the ones tied to purchased electricity.
Sosiani Shows What Solar Can Do
At Sosiani, solar supplied an average of 37.64% of total energy consumption over the year and generated 908,962 kWh. In January 2026 the share peaked at 52.73%.
That month was the first in which solar output exceeded grid draw at the plant. The report says Sosiani’s performance gave the board confidence to sanction the Kagwe expansion.
Kagwe averaged 21.0% of total energy consumption from solar for the full year, and 27.4% over its first eight months. Its best month was also January 2026, at 38.6%, and it generated 813,671 kWh in the year.
The Plan for Kagwe and Beyond
By the end of this calendar year, Carbacid plans to invest in an additional 400 kWp of solar and a 723 kWh battery energy storage system at Kagwe. A battery stores power made in sunny hours so that a plant can use it later.
Battery storage is planned for Sosiani in the following years. The company aims to lift its solar share from an average of about 30% to about 50% by financial year 2029/30.
The company says the programme also advances its net-zero ambitions, meaning its goal of cutting net emissions to zero. It gives no overall investment figure for the programme.
Emissions and Diesel Use
Combined Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions fell 26%, from 7,898 tonnes in financial year 2024/25 to 5,871 tonnes in 2025/26. Scope 1 covers direct emissions such as burning diesel, and the report cites higher output over the period.
Diesel used in generators fell 61%. Diesel used by bulk tankers fell 9.2% even as they hauled more product.
What It Means for You
Investors in Nairobi industrials get a clear example of a company trying to fix part of its power cost. The report says solar has yielded significant savings since commissioning but gives shares of energy use rather than shilling amounts, so the financial effect will have to be judged later from the accounts.
For readers abroad, this is a small but concrete sign of how Kenyan firms respond to electricity-cost risk. For more on Nairobi-listed companies, read our story on Safaricom, the Kenyan mobile operator.
The next markers are the Kagwe expansion due by the end of 2026 and the target of about 50% solar by financial year 2029/30. Those dates give investors a simple way to check progress.
What Is Not Known
The report gives no investment cost for the new 400 kWp and battery. It also gives no shilling value of the savings it describes.
It states no tariff figure, so the size of the hedge against tariff rises cannot be calculated. It does not say how the battery will be financed.
Sources: Carbacid Investments, 2026 Sustainability Report (read 7 November 2026), https://www.carbacid.com/documents/96/2026_CARBACID_SUSTAINABILITY_REPORT.pdf. Company website: https://www.carbacid.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What share of Carbacid’s electricity comes from solar?
Solar supplied about 27% of the group’s electricity needs in the year ended 31 July 2026. At Sosiani the average was 37.64%, and at Kagwe it was 21.0%.
What does Carbacid plan to build next?
By the end of 2026 it plans an extra 400 kilowatt-peak of solar and a 723 kilowatt-hour battery at Kagwe. Battery storage for Sosiani follows in later years.
Does the report say how much money Carbacid saves?
Only in part. It says solar has yielded significant savings since commissioning but gives no shilling value and no tariff figure, so the benefit cannot be calculated from it.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error