More households, hotels adopt renewable energy solutions

Aug 08, 2008

Uganda is among the least powered African nations with reliable electricity a wide spread problem. Current statistics from the Ministry of Energy show that 95% of Ugandans have no access to electricity from the national grid.

By Alex Balimwikungu

Uganda is among the least powered African nations with reliable electricity a wide spread problem. Current statistics from the Ministry of Energy show that 95% of Ugandans have no access to electricity from the national grid.

Even when the World Bank recently approved a $360m loan to build a power station at the Bujagali Falls, the project can only help alleviate Uganda’s power shortage problems from 2011.

Bump into the occasional dark nights experienced by Kampala and other major towns and you could rightly say there is an energy crisis.

Rather than ponder over what has been or what could have been, with government not providing plausible answers, more Ugandan households are opting for alternative power and energy sources.

Prof. Ssemakula Kiwanuka, the State Minister for Finance (investment) admits that at the moment, renewable energy is important for Uganda, where electrification access is still low. He says the demand for potential market for the solar systems is enormous.

“Uganda’s electrification stands at about 9% nationally and 3% in the rural areas, meaning that electrification in most parts of the country through grid extension in the near future is still a far cry.

Renewable resources are one of the important ingredients for enhancing growth and rural transformation and we have taken measures to develop and promote renewable energy as an integral part of Uganda’s energy future,” he says.

He explains that a renewable energy policy has since been developed to increase usage of renewable energy from the current 4% to 61% of the energy consumption by 2017.

Dhananjay Nandedkar of Ultra Tec (U) admits that since 1999 when they set shop in Uganda, there has not only been an ever increasing awareness on alternative power sources, people are actually buying the equipment to connect to the energy source. This is because installing the solar systems is not as expensive as when it was first installed in Uganda.

“Many people are buying solar energy for their homes or their businesses for they have realised that besides putting the dark days away, they can save money with the solar systems and also make more money with the solar business packs,” he explains.

He says many innovative products are now on the market. For instance, he says that at Ultra Tec they have a solar household system with four lights capable of charging a phone and powering a small radio at as low as sh300,000 when fully installed.

He says they have also brought in solar DC computers that consume as low as 20w power and do not need investment on a solar panel, battery and inverter as compared to normal laptops and desktops. Other innovations include the solar fridges, solar ‘7’ TV and lanterns that work for three to five hours non-stop.

“To support the bustling renewable energy industry we have provided technical and management training. We have since started the ultra solar franchises and we already have eight in different parts of Uganda. We hope to add five franchises soon as we endeavour to spread throughout the country.”

Allan Semakula of Equator Sun, specialists in sun-line solar water heaters, says most sprouting hotels and plush residences are opting for solar water heating for it actually saves money, running costs and is environmentally friendly.

He says where most water heaters use the vacuum tube which is easily damaged, sun-line water heaters use the heat tube, have no seaming and leakage and are rust-free, which has endeared many to them.

“The separated energy saving water tanks can also be directly used as central heaters and hot water for family life, but also for hotels, hospitals, factories, high grade commercial buildings and swimming pools,” he explains.

It is for the increasing popularity of the renewable energy solutions that Post Bank recently launched a scheme for the purchase of solar equipment on credit. The loan repayment period is between six and 36 months and will go lengths in making solar systems affordable.

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