September 2024 - latest news

 Over the last few months, Desmond (pictured above) and the rest of our team have been busy training over 300 people in 4 locations across Ghana, inspiring the next generation of solar and energy professionals. 

We have also had great news from the solar powered irrigation project featured in the last newsletter. After just 4 months, one of our farmers, Godwin, has successfully harvested crops grown using the new system. Godwin was delighted with his okra crop, which would not have been possible without the reliable solar powered irrigation system.

We are now moving on to our next big solar project -  providing solar powered lighting and refrigeration for a rural health clinic. This will increase vaccine access and improve healthcare provisions for over 10,000 people in Jantuakrom (Western Region). Improving energy access for rural health clinics has become a key priority for us and we are hoping this project will be the first of many. Communities are always strongly behind these projects and a small amount of money can have a huge impact. 

Behind the scenes, we have been constructing better training materials and welcoming a new member to our core team. Read on to find out more.

Solar Training Programmes 

Stephen one of our trainees talking about his experience

Between May and July, we trained over 300 individuals in solar power and energy efficiency. Here’s what some of our trainees had to say:

"The pace of delivery was immaculate."

"I was impressed by how the trainers took their time to teach us. Most trainings do not delve deeply into what needs to be understood."

Here are some details of the 5 recent training programmes:

Dadieso: In this rural border town we provided training on basic solar power skills for off-grid homes and farms. Seven immigration officers participated to learn how to design and install solar systems for border compounds without grid access.

Shama: In this small coastal town we delivered training in collaboration with a local NGO aimed at equipping young people with vocational skills. The focus was on solar energy for rural homes and businesses.

Tarkwa, University of Mines and Technology: In partnership with the Renewable Energy Society we conducted a training session open to all engineering students, attracting nearly 250 participants. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, especially regarding the practical workshop.

Kumasi: At our training centre we provided advanced training exclusively for certified electricians, allowing them to deepen their expertise in the field

Welcome Jennifer to the Team

We are delighted to announce that Jennifer has finally joined the Dream Renewables team!

Jennifer participated in our 6-month training 18 months ago. Her passion for learning and her clear technical ability caught the eye of our trainers back then and she has certainly made the most of the opportunity. Following the training, she completed two paid internships with our partners Tino Solutions and Nastech Power Solutions, was certified as a house wiring professional and has now completed further vocational training in solar and electrical work. 

We are delighted to welcome Jennifer to our team, as a Freelance Solar Technician. Last week, Jennifer fed back to us that she's particularly passionate about the hands-on installation work. She will therefore join up with our core team when we are out in the field, whether it's installing solar power systems for health clinics, rural farms or households.

Jennifer recently spent a month at our training centre getting to know our core team and helping to deliver solar-powered training

Irrigation Project Update

Godwin sold his crops before we could get any photos! So instead here is a photo of the solar panels at our demonstrator system. 

Just in case you missed the previous newsletter... in April, we installed 10 solar powered irrigation systems for smallholding farmers in the Volta region of Ghana. These systems aim to increase crop yields and reduce the amount of time farmers spend irrigating their crops.

As mentioned earlier, Godwin was delighted with the crop of okra he harvested. Okra requires regular watering and consistently damp soil to grow well and without a reliable irrigation system, harvests are unpredictable. Godwin grew Okra back in 2022 using a diesel powered pump, however since the cost of diesel increased, he had been forced to grow lower-value, drought-resistant crops with minimal irrigation needs, which has been significantly reducing his income.

 
We're incredibly pleased that not only can Godwin now grow higher-value crops, but he can grow during the dry season, which also increases the profitability of his farm

More Developments at Our Training Center!

Our in-country director Samuel, collecting new equipment kindly donated by Victron Energy.

While this section may not seem thrilling to everyone, we’re very excited about our latest achievements!

Victron Energy, a multinational, off-grid solar equipment manufacturer, has shown its support by generously donating £1,000 worth of solar conversion equipment (photo above). Their products are exceptional for training due to their detailed documentation and customisability. Moreover, Victron’s transformer-based systems operate differently from the equipment we currently use, providing our trainees with valuable exposure to diverse technologies.

We also collaborated with local craftsmen to build three portable solar booths. These booths can be easily transported to training programs across Ghana, and along with our two existing solar power systems they allow us to conduct five workshops simultaneously at our training centre. This significantly increases the hands-on experience for our trainees.

We take great pride in the training equipment now available at our centre, which encompasses all common solar power system types suitable for Ghana. This includes small off-grid solar systems typically used for homes in rural areas, hybrid systems which are typically used to provide a reliable and low carbon electricity supply for urban households and businesses, grid-tied systems typically used by larger businesses to reduce energy costs, and two types of solar-powered irrigation systems which can be used by farms of all sizes to reduce costs, increase yields and increase general productivity. 

Each set of equipment is a fully functioning solar energy system. They are used for demonstrations and they are used by our trainees to practice installation, configuration and troubleshooting. 

Here is a full list of our training equipment: 

3 x Off-Grid Solar Booths
1 x Felicity Hybrid Solar Power System with Lead Acid Batteries
1 x Grid-Tied Solar Systems
1 x Victron Hybrid Solar Energy System with Lithium-Ion Batteries
1 x Micro-Scale Solar-Powered Drip Irrigation System
1 x Micro-Scale Solar-Powered Sprinkler Irrigation System