The Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) has rolled out a Smart Energy Monitoring System in the tea processing operations of KTDA Managed Tea factories.
The programme aims to optimize energy usage and improve sustainability across tea production and is currently being piloted at Itumbe and Kiru tea factories under the KTDA Foundation in collaboration with a long-term partner, the German Development Agency, GIZ.
Speaking while assessing the programme at the Kiru tea factory, KTDA Foundation General Manager, Sudi Matara said KTDA is looking to leverage energy-efficient systems to lower the cost of operations and bring down carbon emissions as a way of mitigating against climate change.
“We are here to launch the Smart Energy Management System programme that will help us address energy-related costs. If we are able to manage our costs, then that is a gain to the farmer. We are also looking at issues of sustainability and carbon emissions. One of the things that we are doing as an organization is decarbonizing our operations across the tea value chain” said Matara.
The system will be the first of its kind to be deployed in tea factories to manage operational costs through energy efficiency and automation.
By cutting unnecessary costs tied to inefficient data collection processes, KTDA has created a more cost-effective and streamlined tea manufacturing ecosystem.
The system will enable factories to track their energy consumption electronically and generate data on key metrics such as the amount of biomass used in tea production and the amount of steam being generated by factories.
Further, the system will be able to measure pressure and save the data online for access by the management of the factories, allowing them to make decisions on the operations of the factories.
On his part, Kiru Tea Factory Chairman Chege Kirundi said the factory was glad to be taking part in the pilot phase of the programme with the factory looking forward to the energy savings accruing from the pilot scheme.
“This is a pilot scheme focused on energy saving, energy saving is money. We spend a lot of money on energy for withering in our factory operations, hence the launch of this initiative which we are hopeful will prove beneficial to the farmers in the long run.” Said Kirundi
The Smart Energy Monitoring System is, at its core, designed to improve the use of energy through data to enhance tea production and optimize factory processes. It aims to ensure better energy utilization, cut production costs and in turn, boost income for the farmers.
The system issues comprehensive reports outlining recommendations to minimize energy inefficiencies and achieve peak operational effectiveness.
A standout feature of the system is the real-time quantification of energy use per energy source at the factory processing stage which facilitates swift decision making and interventions.
