Kenya’s flowers farms, goes solar in commitment to sustainability goal

With the rising demand for sustainably farmed flowers, adoption of solar energy has become a significant challenge for flower farms in Kenya. Apart from global consumers becoming increasingly concerned about the environment, the high cost of electricity and frequent power outages in Kenya are some the major challenges facing the Kenya floricultural industry.

To grow flowers sustainably, more and more flower farms in Kenya have embraced solar energy to power greenhouses thus lowering carbon emissions. This commitment is not only reducing the farms environmental effect but is also taming the rising cost of producing flowers for exports in the country.

The solar power projects are enabling farms reduce use of diesel power generators, the main option for many flower farms in Kenya when there is power blackout.

One of the recent farms to install solar energy system is Kenyan summer cut-flower grower and exporter Florencia Blooms Limited. With the commissioning of their first phase of their solar energy initiative on January 9, 2025, they are well on their way to meeting the FSI2025 sustainability targets. “It highlights our unwavering commitment to harnessing 100% solar power for all our energy needs, significantly reducing our environmental footprint, and setting a new standard for sustainable farming in Kenya’s vibrant flower industry”, says Gilbert Towett, the farm’s Managing Director.

Florencia Blooms is located far from the 3-phase national grid, and the cost of connecting to the grid is high. As a smallholder grower farm, they sought an alternative of lease-to-own solar solution, balancing affordability with flexibility.

According to Kenya Flower Council there is an opportunity of making Kenya flowers competitive in the world market when more farms invest in solar power projects. This will mean Kenya flowers will be less priced because of less production costs, and therefore maintain a competitive in pricing.

Other farms in Mt. Kenya region that have tapped into the cheaper and green solar energy include Tambuzi Flowers and Uhuru Flowers. For Nakuru Region; Shalimar Fresh, Van den berg Roses and Solai Flowers are leading in the solar energy uptake.