Downtown Africa
Africa’s appetite for fish is increasing; and since supply cannot keep up with demand from an increasing African population, fish has continued to fetch greater prices in African marketplaces. For this reason, FoodTechAfrica Rwanda has partnered with Dutch and Rwandan enterprises to enhance the aquaculture value chain in Rwanda.
In conjunction with Akagera Management Company, a fish farm is being developed in Eastern Rwanda as part of this public-private partnership financed by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This demonstration fish farm will act as a regional centre for training and farming inputs for fish producers. The FoodTechAfrica Rwanda project is a collaborative effort between Viqon Water Solutions, Til-Aqua International, Independent Energy BV, Claresse Visverwerking B.V., Lakeside Fish Farm, Lattice Aquaculture Limited, and Larive International, as well as Akagera Management Company and the African Parks Network.
Solar energy is increasingly being used in aquaculture due to the benefits of low operating costs, extended life-cycle, environmental friendliness, no CO2 emissions, and little soil contamination. Because of the benefits, several projects utilizing solar energy for aquaculture are being undertaken in various African countries.
Energy consumption is extremely significant in the economics of fish farms and it is critical to reduce energy consumption as much as possible to reduce farm operating costs. As a result, a solar system can play an important part in making a fish farm profitable as it considerably cuts the farm’s monthly operating costs, as they are primarily reliant on power. Independent Energy designed a solar system with battery backup specifically for this project in order to power the electrical equipment.
Frank Hoogers, the Operations Director at Independent Energy said, ”The major goal was to create a system that could generate enough energy to power all of the equipment both during the day and at night. The quality of the system’s components was also given top priority, as uninterrupted power supply is critical.”
The construction of the fish farm was started in early 2021 and will be completed early 2022. The Independent Energy team will install the solar power plant in Feburary 2022. Peter van Zwol the Managing Director at Independent Energy said, ”We are really thrilled about this initiative and the impact it will have on the social and economic circumstances in the community.” Independent Energy feels proud to be part of this partnership and sees a future where renewable energies will play an important role in making fish farming economically feasible, uplifting communities in a sustainable way.
Independent Energy is a company that designs, manufactures and install on- and off-grid solar and backup solutions worldwide from small house-size systems to large complete “plug and play” installations. The company has invested in modern technologies and systems which ensure that performance of the solar solutions can be assessed real time and technical issues can be detected at an early stage. The Company has been designing and installing solar systems from its offices, warehouse and workshop in Haarlem, the Netherlands, since 2011. Late last year, Independent Energy kicked off a 2 MWp solar project in Somalia to enhance energy transition in the country.
This article was written by Pie Kamau and initially appeared at www.africabusinesscommunities.com. You can start earning money by becoming our Independent Reporter or Contributor. Contact us at IR@downtownafrica.com
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