Maximizing the performance of Solar and Biogas technologies

Solar systems and biogas digesters have attracted significant investment within Sub-Saharan Africa. The poorest members of off-grid communities are yet to afford these energy sources. People with energy access have a supply that exceeds the capacity of their current storage options and their own consumption needs. CREEC under the Smart Energy Exchange Network (SEEN) consortium will combine existing techniques and technologies, from a range of sectors, for application in a Sub-Saharan African off-grid setting. Through business model innovation and testing of enabling technologies we will capture surplus energy generated by solar home systems and biogas digesters. These will be distributed in trade bitesize energy packages. SEEN will increase access to reliable supplies of affordable, clean energy, hence addressing all aspects of the Energy Trilemma. We will create new models of energy distribution and access. This will enable a more democratized distributed model of energy provision, particularly for the poorest consumers.

CREEC has engaged various stakeholders to populate a list of households with solar and biogas systems in Uganda. 60 households in peri-urban, urban and rural areas have been involved in the study. The data collected was from the installers of both solar and biogas systems. This populated the list of users to conduct the survey and understand the sizes of the systems installed by these different companies.
The data collected will enable CREEC to modify technologies for application in a new context. This will create opportunities for business model innovation. With energy supplied at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid, communities will be empowered through the provision of new energy services for refrigeration, milling and irrigation.