SolaNetwork

The SolaNetwork project builds upon the successful demonstration of ‘entry level’ energy access technology developed in the SolaFin2Go project that addressed the challenge of providing standalone solar systems to make available affordable clean electricity and hot water for off-grid households in rural sub-Saharan Africa. SolaNetwork will implement scaled-up deployments of standalone Solafin2go technologies interconnected to form physical and virtual node-to-node networks with two-way information transfer that facilitate energy service delivery and provide essential business intelligence. A not-for-profit Distributed Energy Service Company (DESCO) will be set up to operate and maintain the stand-alone units and grid network; manage and administer electricity trading between community prosumers; and deliver targeted training to promote off-grid solutions and develop local capacity in the sector. The DESCO will enable long-term real-world validation of SolaFin2go energy service business models to provide certainty for investors in future initiatives.