More than 7,500 households in Matayos and Teso South Sub Counties depending on the Mundika Water Supply and Treatment plant for their water needs will be the key beneficiaries of a 132 kW solar grid system.
The new system is expected to generate about 200MWh of solar energy annually helping in reducing the electrical power bills significantly.
It generates power during the day which is directly consumed and any deficit is covered by the power from the utility power supply.
Davis and Shirtliff Chief Executive Officer, David Gatende has described the installation of the grid system as transformative and will go a long way in ensuring thousands of residents in the Western region of the country access clean, cheaper and reliable water supply.
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“I commend the County Government of Busia who will save a lot in exchequer expenditure with this renewable energy and redirect electricity bills savings to other development projects to boost the quality of life to residents and boost the County’s profile in green energy generation in Western Kenya,” said Gatende.
The 200MWh/year solar power generation at the current mains power consumption rate of 22/kWh would translate to about Ksh 4.4million savings per year for the Busia County Government.
This would imply approximately 4-5years Return on Investment, and this matches most of the other Solar Grid Tie Project proposals offered regionally.
Since the solar power plant is remotely monitored, with real-time and historical 24/7 data collection, the County Government will also be able to follow-up on actual yearly returns from the power generated and improve on cheaper water availability, delivery, regulation and analysis ” said Davis & Shirtliff Solar Division Manager, Norman Chege.
Mundika Water Supply Plant operates on electricity from the utility power supplier with some of the major loads consisting of 90kW induction motors, 30kW induction motors, 22kW induction motor for the blower, and 0.75kW synchronous motors for chemical stirrer.
“If solar is generating more than what is consumed, the monitoring device used is able to limit feeding back to the grid,” said Chege.
Busia County decided to undertake a Grid Tie Solar system to develop a reliable and efficient system that will use mostly solar energy during the day and electricity at night hence helping in reducing the power bills.
The County’s economic growth is expected to get a boost from the new renewable power source and help conserve the environment in line with the country’s national policies of environmental protection and energy-saving.
