Solar Certificate Course at HURU School

The two month Solar Certificate in Standalone Solar PV Systems Design and Installation officially kicks off in April 2021 with 70 participants with at least 25% female representation.

The objective of the training course is to provide comprehensive and up-to-date, theoretical and practical knowledge on Standalone Solar Power Systems Design and Installation. The training course consists of online lectures and practical session on design and installation and Maintenance of solar PV Systems at our demonstration farm. It will cover a variety of topics, including overview of solar PV technology, introduction to basic electricity, system design requirements and technical specifications, load estimation, battery storage, software systems and operation and maintenance.

Investing in solar and other renewable energy technologies is vital for provision of affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all by 2030. However, some barriers still hinder growth of solar system investments in the region. These include the issues of affordability, access to finance, awareness and inadequate technical capacity for design, installation, testing and maintenance of solar PV systems. In approving this course the HURU School board is committed to sustainable development and training of local professionals and technicians can contribute significantly toward enhancing adoption of solar technology in the African region.

Register Today for the course at www.huruschool.org/solarenergy

Solar farms in Africa

Africa is diversifying its energy sources by going green and investing in solar farms some of which have since been incorporated into the grid system to power African homes and businesses.Below is a list of some of the solar farms in Africa in no particular order.

De Aar, South Africa

South Africa’s solar farm is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, Africa and the Middle-East region. It was constructed within 28 months.The 175MW facility spans across 473 hectares. Funded to a tune of $400 million by Paschal Phelan the venture supplies power to the National Grid, and according to CNN, when there is fierce heat, it produces far more than the Grid can use, and the excess power goes to waste.

Sorati solar plant, Uganda

In the remote eastern district of Soroti lies Uganda’s $19 million solar power plant which adds to the country’s power generation plants.The renewable energy is planned to power over 40,000 rural households in the region. The station has a nominal capacity of 10MW, but is scalable to 20MW.

Burkina Faso’s solar farm in Zatubi

Located in the town of Zatubi, in the outskirts of the capital Ouagadougou the solar farm is West Africa’s biggest solar farm. Sitted on a 55-hectare farm, the 33-megawatt (MW) plant was constructed at a cost of $56.7 million, and is expected to power 110,000 households in the country.

Morocco’s Noor solar power project

Morocco hopes to one day export solar energy to Europe, a vision that has pushed them to run one of the largest solar plans in Africa.

The solar plant aims to produce 2, 000 MW by 2020, 680 MW of which have already been successfully launched in Ouarzazate , Laayoune and Boujdour .

In Ouarzazate, a city also nicknamed the door to the desert, 1,400,000 sq m has been set aside to host solar panels which conduct the sun in a country that has around 330 days of sunshine a year.

Morocco received 60% of the cost from the European Union to fund the Ouarzazate project.

Kenya’s solar plant in Garissa

The Garissa Solar Plant is the largest grid connected solar power plant in East & Central Africa. This is the first time that Kenya has developed a major solar power plant to harness its abundant solar energy resource to diversify the power generation mix and reduce energy costs. Currently this project is contributing about 2% of the national energy mix and has significantly led to a reduction of energy costs in the country thereby promoting the development of clean, reliable, sustainable and affordable electricity.

Learn more about Solar at HURU School's Solar Certificate

Common Application of Solar Energy

Africa is often considered and referred to as the "Sun continent" or the continent where the Sun's influence is the greatest. According to the "World Sunshine Map", Africa receives many more hours of bright sunshine during the course of the year than any other continent of the Earth; many of the sunniest places on the planet lie there.

Despite the large solar potential, penetration of solar power in Africa's energy sector is still very low. However, solar energy education in Africa is growing hence more people are considering solar energy especially after comparing it to other sources of energy.

Below are the different ways in which solar energy is used in various African countries.

Solar Electricity

Solar electricity is becoming increasingly accessible. While still a very small percentage of the electricity generated in Africa, solar electricity is growing rapidly. A distributed solar PV system is typically installed on the rooftops of homes or businesses. These solar power systems generate electricity to offset the property owner’s usage and send any excess production to the electric grid. A solar battery can connect to your solar power system to enable you to use solar after the sun goes down, power an EV overnight, or provide backup power during emergencies. Some homeowners may choose to go completely off the grid with a solar power and battery system or a solar power and generator system.

Solar Water Heaters

Various types of solar water heaters are available. A good example is a thermosyphon solar water heater that was developed at the national centre for energy research and development in Nigeria (NCERD), University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The system can produce hot water supply at a temperature range of 70 – 800C for use in hospitals, hotels, industries and homes.

Solar Cookers

Solar radiation is also harnessed for cooking food by concentrating them in solar cookers. Different models of solar cookers have been developed to make cooking so

Much easier and cheaper. Concentrating solar cookers with reflectors to focus light on the cooking tray can attain temperatures up to 3150C.

Solar Crop, Fish and Manure Dryer

Solar crop dryers are mechanised methods of using solar radiation to dry agricultural crops that excludes the traditional method of open to sun or air drying. Different types of solar crop dryers produced by many agencies include solar dryers for grains such as maize, rice, beans, vegetable, pepper, melon, and root crops. A natural circulation solar manure dryer for drying poultry waste, cow dung, pig dropping were also developed. Solar dryers for fish and meat are also available. The solar dryers are more efficient, enhance complete drying and longer storage compared to open-air drying.

Solar Chicken Brooders

Chicken brooders use solar radiation as source of heat in place of electricity bulbs, kerosene lamps or stoves to provide heat for freshly hatched chickens. The technology eliminates the emission of product gases that are hazardous in health of both man and chicken. The system traps heat in a water-filled tank covered with glass and store for brooder space heating during the day and night at temperatures of 35 – 250C. The design has provision for feeding and watering of chickens as well as collection and discharge of chicken droppings.