Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy (London)
11 June 2009
press release
Tonight, at a ceremony in London hosted by HRH The Prince of Wales in London, the world’s leading green energy prize named two African schemes as winners of Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy.
Short films about the projects in-situ revealed how they have transformed the lives and fortunes of individuals and communities, as well as saving thousands of tonnes in carbon emissions. The winners are the Solar Energy Foundation, working in the Ethiopian highlands, and Ugandan company Kampala Jellitone Suppliers.
Ethiopia: the Solar Energy Foundation wins the Ashden Award for electrification of rural areas, supported by the John Ellerman Foundation, for setting up the biggest solar energy programme in Ethiopia, with over 2,000 small solar systems installed in two villages that are off the electricity grid and a further 8,500 units due to be installed elsewhere in the country by the end of the year.
The judges commended SEF “For bringing modern solar energy technology to deliver light and power to remote Ethiopian villages.”
The Foundation was established in 2006 by Dr Harald Schützeichel, who had previously set up and run a solar business in Germany. It has developed high quality solar-home-systems and solar lanterns for the 10,000-plus villagers living in Rema and Rema ena Dire, villages in Ethiopia’s northern highlands, five hours’ drive from Addis Ababa. The residents previously depended on smoky kerosene lamps and candles for their lighting and had turned down the offer of free diesel generators in favour of solar power.
Working closely with local government bodies and also the Disaster Preparedness Agency Ethiopia, SEF provides not just technology, but also maintenance and a financial structure that means each household can have its own solar-home-system.
Uganda: Kampala Jellitone Suppliers Ltd wins The Ashden International Award for Avoided Deforestation, supported by the Waterloo Foundation, for producing non-char biomass briquettes made from agricultural waste. 130 tonnes of briquettes sold every month reduce deforestation and save about 6.1 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of briquettes used.
The judges made the award to KJS “for transforming unwanted agricultural waste into a sustainable energy source.”
Processing of commercial crops generates large volumes of biomass residues including rice and peanut husks, coffee pulp and maize stalks. KJS is a coffee processing business that recognised the potential for converting this ‘waste’ into a clean fuel. Market demand was so strong that they started producing and selling briquettes made from the residues along with improved stoves that burn the briquettes more cleanly and efficiently.
Today these products are used by thousands of cooks throughout Uganda and the business is set to expand. The company is currently selling about 130 tonnes of briquettes every month to 31 schools, universities and hospitals for cooking, and to five factories for producing heat.
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