Naivasha Flower Farm — 22kWp Off-Grid Agricultural Pumping

The Challenge

A commercial floriculture farm on the shores of Lake Naivasha was running diesel generators 14 hours per day to power irrigation pumps across 18 hectares of rose and chrysanthemum crops. Diesel costs were running at KES 210,000 per month, with fuel volatility creating serious margin risk. Grid access was limited and unreliable.

The Solution

Pergamon Energy designed a 22kWp off-grid solar water pumping system:

• 88 × 250W monocrystalline panels on elevated ground-mount structures
• 3 × 7.5kW solar water pump controllers (MPPT-based, variable frequency drive)
• 280,000L/day pumping capacity across three pump stations
• 48V, 200Ah lithium battery bank for morning start capability before peak sun
• Full agronomic irrigation schedule integration with the farm's SCADA system

The Result

Metric	Diesel Baseline	Solar System
Monthly fuel cost	KES 210,000	KES 0
Monthly grid/maintenance	KES 18,000	KES 4,500
Unplanned downtime/month	2.3 events	0 events (14 months)
Payback period	—	3.8 years

The farm has since expanded by 4 hectares, adding two additional pump stations fed from the existing solar array.