Tarita Green Energy: solar-powered fertilizer production in southwestern Kenya

Click to learn more. Tarita Group is planning a 40,000 tons per year renewable ammonia project in Kaptagat, Kenya.

Kenya-based Tarita Green Energy Limited is planning a 40,000 tons per year renewable ammonia project in Kaptagat, in the southwestern part of the country. Sitting on 1,400 acres of land, the project would feature a 195 MW solar PV park, powering a 135 MW renewable hydrogen electrolysis plant. The land is located proximally to a medium voltage transmission line, the 132 KV Kabarnet-Lessos.

With a lower carbon footprint relative to conventional production, the renewable ammonia produced from this project aims to meet regional fertilizer demand. Other project features will include storage tanks, a fertilizer manufacturing complex, and a dedicated ammonia terminal at the Kaptagat Railway Station.

This announcement aligns with the National Green Hydrogen Guidelines announcement by the country’s Energy and Petroleum Authority, which feature plans to reduce fertilizer imports by about 50%, via two five-year phases, through local low-carbon fertilizer production leveraging the country’s high renewable energy generation capacity.

In October 2023, Talus deployed its modular, containerised ammonia & fertilizer system in a 1-ton-per-day fertilizer project outside Nairobi, following a 15-year offtake agreement with macadamia and cashew nut producer Kenya Nut, with scale up plans to meet the latter’s entire fertilizer requirements.

In 2021, Maire Tecnimont announced plans for a renewable energy to fertilizer project at the Oserian Two Lakes Industrial Park in Kenya’s Nakuru county. The project plans to produce about 200,000 tonnes per year of low carbon nitrate fertilizer for local consumption.