Performance Analysis of Solar Photovoltaic Integration and its Impact on Energy Use and Emissions in Liquid Carton Packaging Manufacturing

The liquid food packaging industry is energy intensive, because of high energy demand in processes like flexographic printing, extrusion coating, slitting and auxiliary systems like compressed air and chilled water plants. This study evaluates the integration of a 679 kWp grid tied solar photovoltaic (PV) system integrated at 11 kV within a leading liquid carton packaging manufacturing facility in Kenya. The study demonstrated the need for sustainable energy solutions for manufacturing systems with high energy demand. The objective is to analyze the performance of the Solar PV system and its impact on factory energy consumption and carbon footprint reduction. The methodology employed combines the integration of real time energy monitoring platforms such as Sunny Portal, Schneider EcoStruxure and Sphera Cloud which supports data driven insights and calculation of key performance indicators including performance ratio and utilization factor. Results show that Solar PV offset 17% of total energy demand, reducing reliance on fossil based grid electricity and lowers emissions. Recommendations include adding battery storage to store excess energy curtailed by export control and during low utilization. This paper provides a practical framework for industrial Solar photovoltaic integration in emerging industry.