Access to electricity for the people of Lolwe is now guaranteed. This change is due to a solar mini-grid recently commissioned as part of a partnership between Engie Energy Acces, the subsidiary of French giant Engie, and Equatorial Power, a company based in Kampala, Uganda. The solar power plant recently commissioned by the Engie Equatorial joint venture has a capacity of 600 kWp.
The plant is connected to an electricity storage system, and distributes electricity via a mini-grid on Lolwe Island, located in Lake Victoria, the largest lake on the African continent, covering more than 68,000 km2. The mini-grid supplies 3,000 households on the island.
Productive use of solar energy
The Lolwe mini-grid also provides electricity to 700 businesses. The facility also has an industrial site with a pumping station, water distribution and purification plant, as well as fish drying facilities and ice-making facilities for preserving fish products before export to the rest of Uganda and abroad.
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“For us, electricity is not an end in itself, but a means to provide other essential services such as clean water, agribusiness and electric mobility. It is this vision that we believe will have a real impact on rural communities and bring sustainable financial and social development to the African continent,” says Riccardo Ridolfi, CEO of Engie Equatorial.
In Lolwe, the productive use of electricity will create many jobs © Engie Energy Access
In Lolwe, the joint venture is acting as an incubator, financing the installation of energy-efficient equipment and machinery to help the development of this remote community. The company plans to replicate this model of sustainable development infrastructure in other localities in the Lake Victoria region.
Jean Marie Takouleu