Embracing sustainable energy practices at our flower farms

The electricity that we use is mostly from the grid. That might sound unfavourable, but did you know that electricity from the grid in Kenya and Ethiopia is super green? Approximately 90% of Kenya’s electricity is generated from renewable energy sources (geothermal, hydro, wind and solar). Ethiopia is nearing 100% renewable energy on the grid, with hydropower as the biggest contributor, followed by wind and thermal sources. In addition to this, we are also producing our own electricity at most of our Kenyan farms with solar PV systems.

Optimising energy use

Then, it’s a matter of optimising the use of electricity at our farms. Each farm in Kenya has an Energy Team to look at ways in which overall energy use at the farm can be reduced without affecting productivity.

Smart lighting

We approach this on every scale, big or small. For instance, some crops require more than 12 hours of light, like Hypericum. More than 50% of our lighting is now done by LEDs, and we are moving fast to bring this to 100%. LEDs use 50-75% less electricity for the same light output than traditional lights. On top of that, they have a much longer lifespan, and are low-maintenance. We closely monitor the planting programme and match the light exposure to the stage the plants are in. This way, no electricity is wasted on plants that do not need additional light hours.

Another process that requires energy is pumping water, either from lagoons (where we store water during the wet season) or boreholes. By collecting as much water as possible (direct rainfall runoff and river floodwater) and using water as efficiently as possible, we save around 35% on electricity for water pumping! We also aim to do as much pumping as possible on solar power (i.e. during the day).