Why Daystar installed 6.8MW solar across Nestlé plants

Daystar Power Group has completed solar installations at four Nestlé manufacturing facilities across West Africa, bringing total installed capacity to 6,884 kilowatt-peak, a figure that positions the partnership among the largest commercial and industrial clean energy arrangements on the continent.

The deployments, which cover sites in Abidjan, Tema, and Dakar, are all fully operational. In Côte d’Ivoire alone, two Abidjan facilities account for 3,447 kWp of combined capacity. A 2,547 kWp system serves Nestlé’s factory in Tema, Ghana, while an 890 kWp installation runs at the Dakar facility in Senegal. Each system was engineered to the specific grid conditions and operational demands of its location, rather than applied as an off-the-shelf solution.

The expansion marks a significant evolution from what began as a single-site commissioning. That Daystar Power has now delivered across three countries for the same client signals something the broader C&I solar market in sub-Saharan Africa has been waiting to see: a replicable model that a global manufacturer is willing to scale.

“Nearly 7 megawatts across four Nestlé facilities is a number we are proud of, but what it represents matters more than the figure itself,” said Yischai Beinisch, chief executive of Daystar Power Group. “It means that one of the world’s most demanding manufacturers has tested our model, trusted it, and come back. Our job now is to keep earning that, across every market where industry needs energy it can count on.”

For Nestlé, the installations are part of a wider effort to embed sustainability into its West African operations rather than treat it as a peripheral commitment. The company has publicly stated net-zero targets, and the solar buildout feeds directly into those obligations — reducing greenhouse gas emissions while improving energy resilience at facilities that rely on consistent power to maintain production.

Samer Chedid, chief executive of Nestlé’s Central and West Africa region, framed the investment in terms of the company’s broader identity in the region. “This investment reflects our commitment to building a business that not only grows but does so responsibly,” he said. “By advancing solar energy projects in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal, we are embedding sustainability into our growth, reinforcing our role as a force for good, creating long-term value for communities, and ensuring that our footprint actively contributes to a cleaner, more resilient future.”

The timing is notable. West Africa’s industrial sector faces persistent grid instability in major manufacturing corridors, and the cost of diesel backup power remains a significant drag on operating margins. Commercial solar, particularly when designed around a facility’s load profile and grid interface, increasingly offers manufacturers a credible path to both cost control and emissions reduction — without requiring them to compromise on uptime.

Daystar Power, which operates across multiple West African markets, has built its model around exactly that proposition: energy that industrial clients can run on, not just point to. The Nestlé partnership now provides the clearest public proof of that thesis at scale.

With Nestlé’s manufacturing footprint extending further across the region, and Daystar Power’s operational infrastructure already in place in the relevant markets, the companies have indicated the relationship is structured to grow. Whether additional sites follow will depend on how the existing four perform under the demands of a company whose production tolerances leave little room for energy variability.

At 6,884 kWp and counting, the baseline is set.