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

**利用河流涡轮机提高乌干达能源获取的可承受性和可靠性**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的一个有价值的补充，可用于加速能源获取并改善乌干达贫困农村社区的生活质量。能够利用快速流动的水速经济地发电的小型、高效、自由流水力涡轮机的出现是一项新的发展。它使用从近海潮汐能领域转让的技术，英国自大约二十年前开始在该领域一直处于世界领先地位。水力发电技术与传统水力发电有着根本的不同，传统水力发电是在河流落下一定高度或“水头”时从河流中提取能量。传统水力发电在向国家电网大规模供电时具有成本效益且可靠。但这些庞大的项目往往无法连接电网“之外”或“之下”的贫困社区。无需土木工程即可轻松部署的水力涡轮机可以为那些可能落后的人提供负担得起的、可靠的电力。将提供这项可行性研究的财团汇集了Kinetic Hydro（一家开发涡轮机技术的英国中小企业）、Practical Action（一家在撒哈拉以南非洲地区拥有三十多年工作经验的慈善机构）、Challenges Group（一家支持社会企业的商业发展机构）以及莱斯特大学（莱斯特大学拥有使用卫星数据评估水电潜力的能力）。将使用乌干达作为评估水力河流涡轮机有助于加速提供能源的可行性的案例研究。该国的成功机会和障碍将代表撒哈拉以南非洲其他国家（但不相同）。它的电力供应虽少但正在加速，农村人口贫穷且分散，并且拥有适合水力涡轮机的河流网络。农村地区的妇女和边缘群体获得能源的机会尤其少，而且对生产资源的控制也很有限。收集水、燃料和饲料等基本任务每天要花费很多时间。如果能源获取可以用来释放花在家务上的时间，从而可以用于创收活动，那么它就可以带来变革。因此，该项目将研究如何为居住在合适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.