BUKASA - UGANDA

BUKASA - UGANDA

Project Date
31/05/2016 - 10/10/2018

Type of plant
SYSTEM INTEGRATOR Mini-grid

Client
ABSOLUTE ENERGY SRL

 

Group 50Peak Power

100 kWp

Group 49Users

500

Group 48Storage Capacity

200 kWh

 

Bukasa Island: Our photovoltaic power plant turns into the first African “Smart Village”.

The first "smart village" in Africa was finally born in the village of Kisaba, on the island of Bukasa (Kalangala, Uganda). The Absolute Smart Village is not just a photovoltaic system: it is a unique pilot project of its kind, which embraces every component of the community by producing energy, services and opportunities, increasing safety and supporting social growth.

The mini-grid is the second project that Work System Srl has carried out in Lake Victoria on behalf of the investment platform in renewable energy Absolute Energy Capital in collaboration with AICS Italian Agency for cooperation and development. The photovoltaic system has a peak power of 100 kWp with a storage capacity of 200 kWh based on acid lead technology and an 85 kVA support diesel generator. The low voltage distribution network was built by the Rural Electrification Agency and currently connects around 600 users.

However, our idea went beyond the concept of power generation. The challenge was to transform the site into the nevralgic center of the activities of the village.

Absolute Smart Village is a protected place, yet fully accessible to every member of the community. The photovoltaic generation power of 100 kWp is distributed on the roofs of 8 structures arranged in a circle that host commercial activities managed by local staff including a small cinema, a bakery, and a cafe.

The structures surround a large open space that will be used as a market on established days, creating an effective, clean, controlled and safe trade center, a new reference point for the inhabitants of the village and nearby communities who will thus be able to benefit from new opportunities: new businesses, gatherings, and a cleaner city.

The Absolute Smart Village has brought benefits to the community since the early stages of its construction, the production of the bricks on-site with a mechanical press has in fact involved the same villagers who have been trained and educated to use a new technique of safer and more eco-sustainable construction.

The nearly 2000 inhabitants of the village of Kisaba now can not only benefit from access to a source of clean and reliable energy, but the Absolute Smart Village also has the ambition to differentiate and expand the business opportunities of a community formed largely by fishermen, as well as encouraging the involvement of women in the economic fabric of the community.