Four entrepreneurs have joined forces to boost renewable energy in Africa in an effort to reduce the number of people without access to electricity in Africa by the creation of a renewable-energy corporation ePower Holdings.
The entrepreneurs, ePower Holdings cofounder and representative Tariq Yusuf, Brent Peterson, Rudi van der Westhuizen and Thlopie Motsepe, aspire to build up the company into a provider of “green renewable energy” to the people that are not linked to the electricity grid.
Yusuf stated that the company does not present a product, but, instead, an off-grid solution that is convenient and self-reliant – in the form of battery swap centers integrated into 6 m and 12 m containers. Each container generates almost 1.8 kW of solar energy.
According to ePower Holdings, the 6 m container can hold 500 household battery swaps daily and the 12 m container can offer 1 000 household battery, swaps daily. The household battery is a 12 V battery, which has a light-emitting-diode lighting solution able of illuminating a small room. The battery can also charge small appliances.
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These containers also provide a succession of complementary services, with electricity supply being the key attribute, which guarantees that the ePower model is self-reliant in terms of generating its own electricity.
The containers also offer the people with 24-hour television screening, an Internet café with around the clock Wi-Fi, as well as learning platforms.
Exploiting the containers to charge batteries and cell phones creates adequate income to hire atleast four people in each society who ensure the containers work competently, states ePower Holdings.
ePower Holdings plans to launch 15 containers in various African countries by 2019 with entrepreneurs working and yielding profits from this project.
In an effort to break into the global market, ePower Holdings have entered the Zayed Future Energy Prize in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates. This annual award centers on accomplishments in renewable energy and sustainability that replicate impact and lasting vision.
Renewable energy in Africa is still low but recent developments seek to reverse the trend.
