by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
04/11/2026

MOL, Sharp, IOM Implement Solar Panel Donation Project
~ Move Will Enhance Living Conditions in Power-short Areas of Kenya ~

     Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Jotaro Tamura; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) today announced the donation of solar power panels to communities in Kenya through a joint initiative with Sharp Corporation, Sharp Energy Solutions Corporation (Sharp), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). A total of 420 solar panels manufactured by Sharp were donated and installed at shelters for people displaced by floods in Tana River County in coastal Kenya and vulnerable communities in Mandera County in Northeastern Kenya. (1)
As part of this project, MOL provided IOM with free multimodal transport services, including container shipping, rail, and truck transport from Sharp‘s Sakai Warehouse in Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, to the MOL Logistics warehouse in Nairobi. MOL also arranged and provided environmental attribute certificates (2) for each transport mode—maritime, rail, and truck transport—to IOM. (3)

Illustration showing the collaboration between Sharp, MOL, and IOM in providing solar panels, transportation and logistics, and community distribution in Kenya.
Partnership Between Sharp, IOM, and MOL
A forklift loading packaged Sharp solar panels into a shipping container at Sharp's Sakai Warehouse in Osaka, Japan, for transportation to Kenya.
Loading solar panels at Sharp's Sakai Warehouse
Two trucks carrying donated solar panels outside the MOL Logistics warehouse in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of the joint initiative by MOL, Sharp, and IOM.
Solar panels being transported from the Nairobi warehouse by MOL Logistics, an MOL Group company

On October 29, a commemorative ceremony was held in Tana River County, one of the project sites. The solar panels installed under the project will provide electricity to approximately 130 households in power-short areas in Tana River, Kenya, helping to improve local living conditions. Further details about the project are available on YouTube and on the website below.

  1. MOL Solutions website: Coming Soon
  2. Sharp Official Site note: A Dad of Twins Lights Up the Night in Kenya | Sharp Official Site

Representatives from MOL, Sharp, IOM, and local communities gather around donated solar panels during a commemorative ceremony in Tana River County, Kenya.
Commemorative ceremony
(From left: Hiroshi Matsuura, Japanese Embassy in Kenya; and Dhadho Gaddae Godhan, Governor of Tana River County)
Solar panels installed on the metal roof of a rural house in Tana River County, Kenya, providing renewable electricity to a community with limited access to power.
Solar panels installed in Tana River County

Under the MOL Group Management Plan “BLUE ACTION 2035” Phase 2, the MOL Group has identified the Indian Ocean Arc —stretching from East Africa to Southeast Asia, where it anticipates medium- to long-term economic growth—as one of its priority areas. Kenya is one of the group’s key strategic regions, and it has been working closely with local companies to create business opportunities there. Through its business activities and social contributions, MOL Group will create both economic and social value and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society.


References | Notes

  1. Tana River County in coastal Kenya is prone to recurrent flooding, repeatedly displacing communities and leaving some families living in temporary shelters. Mandera County in northeastern Kenya is a remote border region where communities are significantly affected by drought, flooding and conflict.
  2. Certificates, which detail the environmental attribute information (including carbon intensity, GHG emissions reductions, and other sustainability characteristics that substantiate a claim) associated with a given quantity of low carbon fuel used for a low carbon transport service.
  3. Through this project, MOL provided low-carbon intermodal transportation services to IOM at no cost. By utilizing the environmental attribute certificates provided by MOL, IOM can demonstrate that it used low-carbon intermodal transportation services as a shipper. In the transportation sector, initiatives are gaining traction in which shippers collaborate with transportation service providers, such as shipping companies, and fuel suppliers through using of environmental attribute certificates to advance transport decarbonization. In this project, MOL collaborated with Energifabriken i Sverige AB, a Swedish supplier of low-carbon fuels; Sentinel Earth AG, a Swiss climate project developer, which supplied environmental attribute certificates from its Azure Road electric truck project in China; and Carboninsets B.V., a Dutch environmental attribute certificate matchmaker. This made it possible to arrange environmental attribute certificates not only for maritime transport but also for rail and truck transport, all issued through the 123Carbon registry. MOL is also working with ClassNK on GHG emissions calculations and reporting utilizing environmental attribute certificates for obtaining a third-party verification. MOL can provide these solutions to shippers seeking low-carbon transportation services. For more information, please refer to the MOL Solutions website: BLUE ACTION NET-ZERO ALLIANCE (Carbon Inset/Book and Claim Program).
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and may vary depending on local regulations and operational conditions. Please contact MOL or relevant authorities for case-specific guidance.

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