Improving Affordability and Reliability of Energy Access in Uganda with River Turbines

**通过河流涡轮机提高乌干达能源获取的可负担性和可靠性**这项研究将展示新型水力河流涡轮机如何成为解决方案组合中的宝贵补充，这些解决方案可用于加快乌干达贫困农村社区的能源获取和改善生活质量。小型、高效、自由流动的水力涡轮机的出现是一个新的发展，能够以快速流动的速度经济地发电。它使用从近海潮汐能领域转让的技术，自大约20年前建立以来，英国在该领域一直处于世界领先地位。水力技术从根本上不同于传统的水电，后者从河流下降到一定高度或“源头”时提取能量。常规水电在大规模向国家电网供电方面具有成本效益和可靠性。但是，这些庞大的项目往往无法连接到“电网之外”或“电网之下”的贫困社区。无需土木工程即可轻松部署的水力发电涡轮机可以为那些否则可能被落在后面的人提供负担得起的可靠电力。将进行这项可行性研究的财团包括开发涡轮机技术的英国中小企业Kinetic Hydro、在撒哈拉以南非洲有30多年工作经验的慈善机构Practical Action、支持社会企业的商业发展机构Challenges Group和莱斯特大学，这些机构拥有利用卫星数据评估水电潜力的既定能力。乌干达将被用作评估水力河流涡轮机为加快能源供应做出贡献的可行性的案例研究。该国拥有成功的机会和障碍，这些机会和障碍将代表(但不同于)撒哈拉以南非洲的其他国家。它有较低但正在加速的电力供应，贫困而广泛分散的农村人口，以及适合水力发电涡轮机的河流网络。农村地区的妇女和边缘化群体获得能源的机会少得不成比例，对生产性资源的控制也有限。收集水、燃料和饲料等基本任务每天要消耗很多小时。如果能源获取可以用来解放花在家务上的时间，从而可以用于创收活动，那么它可能是变革性的。因此，该项目将研究如何为居住在适当河流附近的乌干达社区的儿童、妇女和男子提供基于水力涡轮机的可持续和有影响力的发展项目。

**Improving Affordability and Reliability of Energy Access in Uganda with River Turbines**This study will show how novel hydro-kinetic river turbines can be a valuable addition to the portfolio of solutions that can be used to accelerate energy access and improve the quality of life for poor, rural communities in Uganda.The emergence of small, efficient, free-stream, hydro-kinetic turbines capable of economically generating electricity from the speed of fast-flowing water is a new development. It uses technology transferred from the offshore tidal energy sector, in which the UK has been a world-leader since it began, about twenty years ago. Hydro-kinetic technology is fundamentally different to conventional hydropower that extracts energy from rivers as they drop through a height, or 'head'. Conventional hydropower is cost effective and reliable at a large scale supplying power to national grids. But these enormous projects often fail to connect poor communities who are either 'beyond', or 'beneath' the grid. Hydro-kinetic turbines that are easily deployed without civil engineering works can offer affordable, reliable power to those who might otherwise be left behind.The consortium who will deliver this feasibility study brings together Kinetic Hydro, a UK SME developing the turbine technology, Practical Action, a charity with over thirty years' experience working in Sub Saharan Africa, the Challenges Group, a business development agency supporting social enterprises, and the University of Leicester, who have an established capability in assessing hydropower potential using satellite data.Uganda will be used as a case study to assess the feasibility of hydro-kinetic river turbines contributing to the acceleration of energy access provision. The country has opportunities and barriers to success that will be representative of (but not the same as) others in sub-Saharan Africa. It has low, but accelerating access to electricity, a poor and widely dispersed rural population, and a network of rivers suited to hydro-kinetic turbines. Women and marginalised groups in rural areas have disproportionately poorer energy access, as well as limited control over productive resources. Basic tasks such as collecting water, fuel and fodder consume many hours a day. Energy access can be transformative if it can used to free up time spent on chores so that it can be used for income generating activities. This project will therefore research how to deliver sustainable and impactful development projects based on hydro-kinetic turbines for the children, women and men living in Ugandan communities near to suitable rivers.