Cigarette maker British American Tobacco (BAT) tripled its solar power consumption last year after it completed key solar installations to improve its renewable energy capacity.
Latest filings show that the firm’s solar consumption climbed to 1,271 megawatt hours (MWh) in 2023, up from 474 previously, cutting its reliance on fuel oil and purchasing electricity for its energy requirements. A MWh equals 1,000 kilowatts of electricity generated per hour and is used to measure electric output.
Solar now contributes to 6.6 percent of the firm’s total 19,254 MWh energy consumption, up from 1.8 percent in 2022 even as fuel oil and purchased electricity remain the leading energy sources for the company.
Other energy sources for BAT include LPG, diesel and petrol with the latter source used mostly to power the firm’s fleet vehicles. BAT invested Sh145 million between 2021 and 2022 increasing the energy generated from solar. The company rolled out Phase II of solar energy installation of 250 kilowatt peak(kwP) capacity last year, increasing on-site generated electricity from 300KwP to 550KwP.
BAT also installed a 25Kw solar hybrid system to support office operations and commissioned a three-phase 1MWp solar project, increasing the onsite electricity generation from 400kwp to 1400kwp.
The company says it has further reduced overall electricity consumption to reduce emissions.
“Reducing GHG emissions and mitigating climate risks will require fundamental shifts in the way we operate our business. We are addressing climate change and accelerating the decarbonisation of our operations through three main elements including energy management, afforestation and biodiversity and sustainable agriculture,” BAT noted.
The company has been reducing electricity consumption at its offices and factories through energy management efforts including the installation of an energy monitoring system on equipment to help in loss analysis to help address areas of improvement.
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