Solar off grid systems are smart way to power all Kenyans

Solar off grid systems are smart way to power all Kenyans

Solar off grid systems are smart way to power all Kenyans

Kenya’s rate of electrification is one of the fastest in the world. It is part of an audacious plan by the Government to provide universal access to energy by 2020 in the context of Vision 2030.

Much has been said about the Last Mile Connectivity Programme. But I believe Kenya will achieve its electrification goals in the two-and-a-half years remaining, if smart, scale-up strategies are employed.

The Sh16.4 billion allocation to renewables in the last Government budget shows Kenya is light years (pun intended) ahead of most of its peers in Africa in its thinking about our energy challenges. The Government is willing to explore innovative ways to achieve results and allocate the necessary resources. 

Innovation and Government support has created the next big homegrown success story – a pioneering mix of solar energy, technology and financial services. This is pay-as-you-go off-grid solar. This sector is providing the broader energy industry with a number of lessons on how to scale up rapidly. 

I saw this for myself in a recent visit to a family in Kwale. Full disclosure here: I was there in my role as chairman of M-Kopa, the company that introduced pay-as-you-go solar home systems to the world. 

My first lesson was that, any power provider – both on and off grid – needs to create a massively simple and transparent proposition for Kenyans and they will take embrace it wholeheartedly. 

Power is still a big cost for all Kenyan homes and businesses. In a way, we have learnt to accept and plan for that. But when money is tight, it is hard to accept the uncertainty and fluctuations in the pricing proposition and supply. 

It is just as important that the proposition is actually tailored to an individual’s real needs. Is it worth the State and its agencies deploying resources to connect a pre-paid meter with 30 units, if those are not going to be used within 12 or even 24 months after the initial units run out?

There are other options for Kenyan consumers and other priorities for investment in our power value chain, including improved transmission.

That brings me to my second takeout from Kwale. The whole industry needs to be thinking about value-added products and services for their customers.

In the off-grid power sector, TV, smartphone, radio and more are being bundled into power connections. That is immediately meeting the short and medium term needs for millions of Kenyans who have been excluded from using these items due to cost and geography.

A power meter on its own is useless. It is important that customers have the right equipment to safely utilise the power and they know how to get the most out of their power spend.

Kenya Association of Manufacturers and KPLC are doing a great job with large power users on energy efficiency. I look forward to similar initiatives flowing down to the small-scale pre-paid users.

My third and final takeout from Kwale was that data is king. Increasing numbers of off-grid systems are following M-Kopa’s lead and embedding Sim cards into their systems.

This means that the providers are able to build a real understanding of when, how and where power is being utilised.

A company such as M-Kopa takes over three million data readings per day from its systems. This means that they can quickly and easily pick up anomalies in a system’s performance. And they are able to track exactly where a system is being used at any time.

For off-grid power providers, that data is being used to develop a pipeline of smart systems and appliances. For KPLC, this would be a huge step forward in the fight against tampering and theft.

Having an effective power grid is absolutely critical for us to achieve Vision 2030. As a country we have revolutionised both the mobile and the off grid pay-as-you-go sectors. I hope we can come together to apply our experiences on 

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Solar pump sets to bail out villagers from water crisis

Solar pump sets to bail out villagers from water crisis

Solar pump sets to bail out villagers from water crisis

Several remote villages in the district are facing acute drinking water shortage during the summer. To overcome water crisis, the Rural Water Supply (RWS) officials are fixing solar powered pump sets to the hand pumps for filling a 5,000 litre capacity synthetic tank. These motors can also run on conventional power.

 The tanks are set up at a height of 6 meters so that people can draw the water. Under the new scheme launched by the central government, the state was sanctioned 857 solar pump sets in which 50 units worth Rs 2.4 crore have been allocated to the Kadapa district. 

According to the RWS officials, arrangements are being made to ensure that water is not wasted. There will be a sensor in the tank and once it gets filled, the motor gets switched off automatically. “The objective is not only to provide drinking water to the people in remote villages but also do it in a smart way.

 Thus, the defunct hand pumps across the district will get revived once the solar pump sets are fixed,” a RWS official said. “It is a revolutionary step that will supply water, prevent wastage, save energy and harness solar power. Measures are on to implement this scheme across the district very soon,” said RWS Superintending Engineer Sanjeeva Rao.

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Solar water pumps gain popularity in remote villages

Solar water pumps gain popularity in remote villages

Solar water pumps gain popularity in remote villages

JAIPUR Water pumps run on solar energy are increasingly becoming popular among farmers in the remote corners of Rajasthan, where electricity supply is erratic.

The development aims to benefit both the farmers and the government in more ways than one. While the farmers will no longer have to depend on the erratic power supply, the discoms (power distribution companies) can also breathe easy as cases of power theft and non-payment of bills will automatically go down.

“Farmers are increasingly showing interest in installing solar pumps. The number of farmers who installed the pumps have risen nearly threefold this year as compared to last year despite reduction in subsidy,” horticulture department director V P Singh said.

They get a subsidy of 60% from the government, of which 30% comes from Union government and the rest is borne by the state government. The popularity of the solar power pumps shows that the government move to reduce subsidy from 66% to 60% failed to make a cut with the villagers.

The state government has installed 28,493 solar power pumps in Rajasthan in the last seven years. Of that 4,252 pumps have been installed in Bikaner, followed by 3,683 in Jaipur.

Solar pump is also cost effective. A 3hp (horsepower) diesel pump consumes 2.5 litres diesel in one hour and farmers run it for about eight hours. Officials said that farmers are also getting better prices for their produce. Earlier, they had to promise their harvest upfront to pay for the fuel, sometimes even agreeing to low prices for their crops.

One negative aspect, however, is tendency of farmers to waste water as the cost of pumping the water is free. Officials said that the government is promoting drip irrigation to curb wastage of water.

Solar water pumps come with a capacity of 1 to 5 hp and cost anything between Rs 1,00,000 and Rs5,00,000, including installation and maintenance for the first five years.

The state government has set a target of installing 10,000 solar pumps in 2017-18.

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Solar powered water pump reaches pure water to Lalmonirhat villagers

Solar powered water pump reaches pure water to Lalmonirhat villagers

A woman collects drinking water from the supply line of a solar pump beside her house at Purbo Bejgram village of Tangbhanga union in Lalmonirhat's Hatibandha upazila. Right, the solar power run pump meant for supplying pure water for the villagers. 

Get Pure Water from Solar Powered Water Pump

One hundred and sixty five people of 28 families in Purbo Bejgram village under Hatibandha upazila of the district have been getting pure water since a solar-powered water pump was installed in January 2016.

Before installation of the pump, which cost Tk 4.9 lakh, they had to collect water for drinking from nearby villages, villagers said.

Benifit from Solar Water Pump System

Anjoli Rani Singh, 46, wife of Shyamol Chandra Singh of the village, said, “We had trouble in getting pure water, but the problem was solved when the solar system water pump was installed by the union parishad. We are getting water in our homes through a pipe connected to the pump.”

“We get water from the solar system pump from morning to afternoon every day,” said Sabitri Rani, 35, of the village. “At night, we use stocked water and water from a tube-well,” she added.

Hridoy Chandra Singh, a college student, said, “The solar system makes our life easier by supplying pure water, we are happy now.”

Pronob Chandra Roy, 48, a farmer at Paschim Nawdabash village, said the solar water pump has changed the lifestyle of the residents of Purbo Bejgram, so the residents of Paschim Nawdabash are demanding installation of solar system pump in the village.

Nawdabash Union Parishad (UP) Chairman Ashwini Kumar Basuniya said there is a plan to install a solar system pump in the village this year.

Tangbhanga UP Chairman Atiar Rahman Ati said the solar system water pump was funded by Local Government Support Project, and the upazila innovation team implemented the technology.

“Villagers are getting water supply free of cost, and the union parishad maintains the infrastructure,” he said, adding that they have a plan to install this technology at other villages in the union.       

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AIB:Renewables continue to grow at a rapid pace across Europe

AIB:Renewables continue to grow at a rapid pace across Europe

Europe  ’s dem for renewable electricity continues to grow in 2016. Based on statistics from the Association of Issuing Bodies (AIB  ) from 2011 to 2016 the market experienced an annual growth (CAGR) of 12,5%. Last year the dem rose by 5% compared to 2015, now reaching nearly 370 TWh.

“Behind this growth are thouss of businesses millions of households in numerous European countries purchasing renewable electricity documented with Guarantees of Origin” said Tom Lindberg, Managing Director at ECOHZ. “Much of the dem is driven by an increased sense of urgency among leading international businesses in contributing to combating climate change – by switching from fossil fuel power to clean, renewable energy.”

In the context of leading companies across various industries defined a clear sustainability agenda to ensure their future competitiveness. In the last two years several initiatives with similar goals have arisen inter alia RE100 which has now 87 corporate members that have all pledged to consume 100% renewable energy in the next years.

According to the Managing Director from ECOHZ, Hydropower remains the dominant source of electricity, with an approximate 75% market share. However this growth has slowed while the supply of solar wind power documented with EECS GO, grew by 300% 50% respectively, now providing nearly 70 TWh.

Recent statistics from AIB show that Germany, Switzerl, Sweden the Netherls remain as the largest markets for renewable purchases in Europe. While Europe’s biggest market, Germany, has halted its rapid growth, the Dutch market continues to grow at a faster pace than the rest, almost reaching 50 TWh in 2016.

According to Lindberg, Spain has shown an impressive speed after a slow start, now issuing nearly 50 TWh in 2016. The markets France Italy continue their sturdy growth, thus underlining their increasing in significance.

The UK is now the only large renewable producer that not actively participates in the European markets. However, thanks to policy frameworks that allow imports of certain European EECS GO for domestic use, the British market shows too an overall dem growth in 2016, as the Managing Director from ECOHZ said.

Beside the UK, there are more European markets with national systems that do not participate in the Pan-European market place but unlikely have yet to adopt the EECS stard. According to AIB these markets total more than 200 TWh of purchased renewable power. If this is included the actual market volume renewable almost compromises 600TWh in 2016. This represents 50% of all renewable power production in Europe.

The AIB statistics only include Guarantees of Origin based on the EECS stard, that are tradable across national borders, among countries which have joined AIB, that are connected to AIB’s electronic GO hub.

AIB:Renewables continue to grow at a rapid pace across Europe

Solar energy powers pump system for irrigation solutions.

Solar energy powers pump system for irrigation solutions.

A farmer in Myanmar waters his crop with the help of a solar water pump

Every mouthful of food eaten by virtually every creature on Earth depends ultimately on the sun. But it can do much more than nurture the crops that feed us − and humans are starting to exploit this potential in striking new ways.

Farmers are now using solar energy to do far more than simply enable their crops to grow. Already it’s helping them to irrigate their fields and to clean their dairy equipment.

Only about 5 per cent of Africa’s cultivated land is irrigated, compared with Asia’s 41 per cent. Until recently, the other available methods have been manual irrigation, which is time-consuming and laborious, or petrol or diesel pumps, which are too expensive for many farmers and also add to greenhouse gas emissions.

But now there’s another way – solar-powered irrigation pumps. One pioneer of this technology is MNE Technology, based in China,manufacturing solar water pump system.

The pump’s solar panel directly converts solar energy into electrical power, which is transferred to a simple motor that rotates a flywheel, whose turning moves a piston up and down to draw water through the pump cylinder.

The pump, which can produce enough water to irrigate about half an acre of land per hour, works on sunny and cloudy days, in the early morning and late into the evening – and is easily transportable.

The solar panels provide the pump’s power directly without the need for batteries.Water is pumped into a raised storage tank by day, and all the farmer needs to do in the evening is to open a valve on the tank so that the water flows down through a filtration system and onto crop root zones via drip irrigation tape.

If you want to learn more about solar water pumping system,welcome to contact us by email sales@megawatt.com.cn

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