Streets in many big cities in Africa, like Lagos, Kampala, and Nairobi, depended on the national power grids to grow. As the conventional source was distributed unevenly, street lighting didn’t cover the whole parts of the cities. While the cost was too high for having an individual electrical grid for each city. Not only about street lighting, but Africa also faces problems of poverty and violence for a long time. They have interlinked each other since most of the city streets were poorly lit.
Solar streetlights in Africa can be an advantageous option. The option will be cited from two connected cities in Uganda, Kampala and Jinja City.
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As the capital city of Uganda, Kampala has been renovated to alter to solar energy. Solar streetlights in Africa learned from this city, has started since 2014. By 2016, many signs of progress were reported. The installment of streetlights had positive impacts on many aspects. The decrease in traffic accidents, the decrease in energy usage and costs, and the increase in economic activities in the city.
Previously, streetlights in Jinja City were only for the colonial-era center of town, and many of them were in poor condition, aged, and badly maintained. No wonder, around Lake Victoria ever spent the nights in darkness in 2016. This condition can also be found in other parts of the city that weren’t part of the planned development.
In the lighting section, Jinja City had an overdue billing of about $3.5 million or 1.3 billion Uganda shillings. This cost couldn’t be covered immediately. Due to this abundant spending, Umeme, as Uganda’s energy distributor, detached the lights in some parts of the city streets. The darkness posed the threat of night violence, each day safety, and slow economic development.
Cited by Kampala, the administrator of Jinja City adopted the same strategy in lighting. The use of solar-powered energy in the main street and some public places. The progress resulted in economic and social life—the increase in street safety and more money to save for another city project.
There was cash flow from advertisements on the light poles. As the business might run longer than usual, it boosted more revenues from many sources: restaurants, shops, and tourism. The streets were brighter and safer at night, so it created more working hours for employees.
The saving and some revenues allowed the city to find solutions for other city problems, especially public facilities. As if it wasn’t impacted much by the pandemic, streets in Jinja City still run actively in 2020. This lesson is a good example to introduce for installing more solar streetlights in Africa.
New installment means new job vacancies. While reducing electricity consumption, solar streetlights in Africa can vary the economic activities, like more daily working hours, support other new businesses, and improve the running ones.
The progress gets slower during the pandemic, but gradually, the installment of solar streetlights in Africa will express the outstanding development. The collaboration among the national government, community organizations, and local authorities will lead to the success of solar-powered lighting all over Africa.
Renewable energy from solar power is abundant in Africa. Using solar energy rather than electricity can save more money and lessen greenhouse gas emissions. These are the impacts economic and environmental altogether.
Surely, the installment imposes a high price at first. However, the installment cost can be covered from the continual energy saving, the more economic activities, and so as the revenues, and the social safety at night and day. The compensation can last longer than using the conventional source of lighting.
To reduce the cost, choosing the appropriate company to support the installment can be another strategy for installing solar streetlights. SDD light is the best solar LED supplier to supply Solar Streetlights in Africa. SDD lights is a company that has international certificates and has rich experience in exporting their products. Their solar-powered products are affordable. Quality and good price are both covered. This company has reached throughout the countries in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The quality is unquestionable.
Uganda had cited the progress of the solar-powered streetlights in Jinja City and Kampala. More and more countries in Africa will reflect the same progress soon.
