Egerton don gives hope for energy in Njoro: He imports cheap solar energy products and distributes them locally

By Eric Sindabi

Energy is a major problem in Kenya that needs great attention. Energy products find their way in home, industry and general infrastructure in both rural and urban areas. With the souring prices of Energy products like petrol, paraffin and Electricity, poor and ordinary Kenyans are being pushed to the walls of despair.

However Egerton University visiting don from the republic of China Prof .Qinsneng Wu is providing hope for residents of Njoro region. The enterprising don imports and distributes locally affordable and reliable Solar Energy products from China which have taken the region by the storm.

These include Mobile phone chargers and Torch and home lighting gadgets.
The don says that the products apart from being cheap are portable and easy to handle while they pose less health hazards risks reminiscent of oil products like paraffin.
The gadgets components include a solar plate, a battery system and a bulb light head. The products retail at an average of K.sh.1000 per piece and can last as long as time can allow.
Prof.Wu says that the cheap solar products are developed in research institutes in China and manufactured under a process called “Green power production”
The products he adds target poor and rural residents of China. He asserts that, his dream is to improve the lives of local marginalized by providing an alternative and affordable source of energy.

The don imports the products and distributes them locally through local small scale business people who act as his sales agents. He says that the demand for the products is high since those who have consumed them earlier have expressed satisfaction. He says that he has so far distributed over 60000 gadgets since starting the business. The community based venture targets small scale traders and individuals with no access to electricity.

Prof.Wu first came to Kenya in 1985 as a visiting don at Egerton University through an exchange programme with the Nanjing Agricultural University. He does research and lectures at the department of Horticulture faculty of Agriculture.
He believes that Energy is one of the major problems affecting the social and economic standards of Kenyans and need to be addressed keenly.

Mean while the University Self Sponsored Programmes (SSP) activities at Nakuru Town Campus are set to be boosted after a recent commissioning of a state-of -the –art Ksh 3.7m worth 100 K.V.A Power Generator at the Campus.

The gadget was bought through a tendering process from a Nairobi based company called Electro Watts Limited and commissioned by the ministry of public works as required by Government regulations.

Present during the occasion were the District Electrical Engineer Mrs. Grace Onyango, Director of Self Sponsored Programmes and Nakuru Town Campus Prof. Stanley Kagwanja and the University planning officer Mr. John Mbau. Professor Kagwanja held that electric power failures would no longer affect normal operations at the Campus adding that the commissioning of the power Generator was a landmark for the Campus.