3 villages in Kyenjojo to be powered with solar-hydrogen technology

Nov 27, 2018

This affects not only homes but also big and small businesses that entirely depend on power for production.

ENERGY|DEVELOPMENT

The Over 300 households and businesses are to be powered in Kyenjojo district.

This comes after the Government through the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) signed an agreement with Tiger Power, Belgian renewable energy company.

At a function held at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Tuesday, Godfrey Turyahikayo, Executive director of REA said, the three villages to be powered lack access to electricity.

These include; Kyaburyezibwa, Mukiti and Nyamicu.

This affects not only homes but also big and small businesses that entirely depend on power for production.

 eft to right  ambregs rengels uryahikayo and ahaj  extreme end after signing the agreement at otel fricana in ampala Left to right: Lambregs, Prengels, Turyahikayo and Bahaj ( extreme end) after signing the agreement at Hotel Africana in Kampala

 
"The process starts immediately so that by next year, these villages will be lit and we move to other areas," he assured.

 Tiger Power is set to build a solar power plant in each village backed up by on-site hydrogen production and storage. The propriety system called Sunfold is a complete solar power solution.

"REA will work on the distribution network to transmit the power. The Government plans to supply 26% of its rural residents with electrical power by 2022. Currently, only 10% have access to electricity in rural communities," he expounded.

Meanwhile, Chris Prengels CEO of Tiger Power explains that Sunfold is a containerised solar generator including a PV-solar array and a battery bank. The hydrogen solution is called the Storager and is built in a standard 20ft container," he explained.

With this technology, residents are assured of uninterrupted power supply.

This will enable people to watch TV, health centres and schools to operate smoothly and businesses will get a boost as well.

Besides, it is eco-friendly and clean since it is pollution and fuel free.

 he system being installed The system being installed

 
Prof. AbuBakr Bahaj, Head of the Energy and Climate Change Division at the University of Southampton in UK who closely works with Tiger Power said, before installing the system, they first went down to the villages and accessed the people's energy needs.

The experts also carried out research on the socio-economic impacts of Tiger Power's mini-grid projects.

"90% of rural Uganda still lacks access to electricity. This is one of the biggest obstacles to alleviating poverty and creating economic development," he asserted.

Bahaj added that the mini-grids in Kyenjojo will provide reliable power for all aspects of the communities' needs, health, education, businesses including the millers and welders.

 
On the other hand, Jonathan Lambregs, Tiger Power's Business development manager for East Africa, explained that when the Sunfold generates insufficient power during wet or cloudy days, the hydrogen generator takes over.

"We are privileged to bring this unique solar-hydrogen technology to Uganda. Rural communities will never see darkness again," he said.

The beneficiaries will pay for the power consumed through a metre.  However, the cost of each unit will be more less the same as that of hydroelectricity.

How it works

Lambregas says that they use the surplus of solar electricity during the day to produce hydrogen which is the most known element in the world.

 
 The electricity causes an electro-chemical reaction separating H20 (water) into H (hydrogen) and O (oxygen).

The hydrogen gas is stored and turned into electricity when needed. In this way, they can power the community without the use of a diesel generator hence pollution free electricity.

"The development of these three mini-grids accelerates Tiger Power's mission to build 200 mini-grids across the East African region," he noted adding that they anticipate building 25 mini-grids in Lamwo, Northern Uganda and later establish a workshop that will employ Ugandans.

Meanwhile, this solar system was recently installed at the Mountain of the Moon University (MMU) in Fort portal where it helps to power the MMU radio. Its transmission was always interrupted by the constant blackouts.

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