Among a plethora of gains, the project will benefit 150 households, 8 schools, 2 medical facilities, 10 businesses, and will result in the creation of 6 new direct jobs and an estimated 17 indirect jobs
Officials of the Hydrobox and SolarNow outside the hybrid solar-hydro plant in Kirinyaga County. PHOTO: Courtesy
By EB Content Studio
Belgian-based hydropower company Hydrobox and Kenya-based C&I solar company, SolarNow, have inaugurated the first hybrid solar-hydro plant in the country that was put up near Baricho town in Kirinyaga County.
The announcement follows the conclusion of the recent Renewable Energy Forum Africa, a renewable energy investment forum organised by AFSIA and SolarPower Europe, as well as Hydrobox and SolarNow. The development is set to provide residents of Baricho in Kirinyaga County with uninterrupted power supply. .
Located near the town of Baricho, Kirinyaga County – and on the premises of a formerly abandoned hydro project – the 1,200 m2 mini-grid facility is in close proximity to the nearby Rwamuthambi river.
The facility uses the natural flow of the water to power a crossflow turbine, managed by Hydrobox, and is expected to deliver 50 KW of hydropower with a design flow of 0.65 m3/s and a capacity of 170 kW.
In a statement, the two firms said the project will benefit 150 households, 8 schools, 2 medical facilities, 10 businesses), and will result in the creation of 6 new direct jobs and an estimated 17 indirect jobs.
“The Gitwamba power plant was designed as a hybrid hydro and solar power plant. This is because the flow rate of the river differs a lot between the dry and rainy seasons.
The solar system provides additional power during the dry season, while the hydro plant provides additional capacity during the rainy season, providing the customers in Kirinyaga County with a stable base load day and night,” read their statement.
Hydrobox CTO Rik Vereecken said that solar capture and storage would be the plant’s master and primary energy source, with hydropower acting as the secondary source or slave, supplying energy when the load was in “deficit”.
“This combination leads to a stable and consistent power generation system,” he said. A 50 KW crossflow turbine, Victron Quattro inverters and chargers, Fronius Inverters, a 240 KWh storage facility and a 90 KVA backup generator comprise the hydro part of the project, Vereecken added.
SolarNow director and CFO Ernst Vriesendorp pointed out that the technicalities between hydro and solar had “proven complementary” but did not go into detail as to how the solar component of the project was comprised.
He said that despite the project’s humble size, it has “large” benefits. “I think it’s a very entrepreneurial and rewarding segment, and, in our opinion, with a very high impact potential,” Vriesendorp explained. “It is a technical achievement, but also a strategic achievement.”
Hydrobox sales manager Annelies Vanderwaeren revealed that a power purchase agreement (PPA) with an unspecified business owner – whom they are considering their “anchor customer” – had been secured as well as another PPA with a “bigger telecom provider”.
She also said the project is expected to be completely online by the year’s end, adding that the Ksh.97 million ($650,000) project was financed through private equity funding and crowdfunding, with the latter garnering Ksh.39 million ($263,511).
The facility was designed as a hybrid hydro and solar power plant as the flow rate of the river oscillates between the dry and rainy seasons. Whereas the solar system provides additional power during the dry season, the hydro plant offers additional capacity during the rainy season, providing customers in Kirinyaga County with a stable base load day and night.
The hydropower component has an installed capacity of 50 kW at a design flow of 0.65 m3/s.
On the other hand, the solar component has an installed capacity of 150 kWp and a capacity of 120 kVA (120 kW).
Hydrobox specialises in the development of small run-of-river hydropower projects that provide communities and businesses with reliable, eco-friendly electricity.
These power stations are deployed in areas with poor or no access to energy and serve an ecosystem of anchor customers (large farms and factories), small businesses (schools, hospitals, shops, restaurants, etc.), and household customers through a self-owned mini grid..
Similarly, SolarNow is a full-service solar EPC company that has operated in East Africa since 2011.
From a company delivering energy to over 50,000 rural consumers and small businesses, SolarNow has evolved into a solar EPC active within the commercial and industrial (C&I) market in East Africa.
SolarNow offers client financing solutions and supports businesses as well as institutions with the design and installation of their solar system solutions.
It is primarily active in the education, healthcare, telecom, hospitality, manufacturing, oil and gas, real estate, and non-profit sectors.
By the end of 2022, Kenya’s total installed solar capacity stood at 307 MW, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Around 90 MW of PV was newly deployed last year.
