In December 2024, partner CTEN(Community Technology Empowerment Network) took a significant step in further strengthening the collaboration of the project consortium with local communities in Bidibidi Refugee Settlement. Through its inception and end-of-year feedback meetings, CTEN set the stage for the SUNNY project, which aims to drive community-based protection, education, and livelihood improvements through enhanced and sustainable access to energy services.
About CTEN
CTEN, a Registered Refugee-Led Organization (RLO), that operates under the vision of fostering a healthy, informed, and peaceful community. With thematic areas spanning community-based protection, digital education, energy, environment, and livelihood support, CTEN is committed to empowering refugees and host communities alike.
The SUNNY Project: Setting the Foundation for Success
Bidibidi Refugee Settlement requires operational partners (OPs) and implementing partners (IPs) to conduct inception meetings for new projects to ensure alignment with government programs and effective coordination. On November 18, 2024, CTEN held an inception meeting in Zone 1 to introduce the SUNNY project. This project targets Zones 1-5 and seeks to integrate within the existing settlement framework to enhance collaboration and efficiency.
On November 22, 2024, an end-of-year feedback meeting was held with key stakeholders, including the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), Refugee Welfare Councils (RWCs), Religious and opinion leaders, and other RLOs. This meeting provided an opportunity to reflect on achievements, challenges, and lessons learned over the past six months.
Objectives of the Inception Meeting
The inception meeting aimed to:
Introduce the SUNNY project to all stakeholders and highlight its alignment with the settlement’s operational framework.
Present approved work packages, deliverables, and timelines for effective implementation.
Define roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures for consortium partners.
Gather feedback from the community on activities conducted by CTEN in collaboration with TUB, ReFuse, and UMAK.
Attendance and Engagement:
The two meetings attracted 41 participants comprising representatives from government, community leadership, and refugee-led organizations. The gender distribution included 28 males and 13 females, achieving approximately 70% attendance of the targeted stakeholders.
Key Achievements:
During the past six months, CTEN made notable strides in:
Increasing awareness of renewable energy solutions and waste management.
Encouraging active participation of local communities in workshops and surveys.
Identifying priority waste sites for intervention.
Strengthening collaboration between stakeholders and community representatives.
Challenges Identified:
Despite the achievements made, several challenges emerged:
Limited resources to scale up waste management interventions.
The need for more practical demonstrations and pilot projects.
Gaps in technical capacity among local community members.
However, these challenges are not insurmountable. With continued engagement from partners and the valuable feedback from the community, SUNNY is implementing strategies to address these issues effectively. Increased resource allocation, practical training sessions, and strengthening local capacity will help overcome these obstacles, ensuring the long-term success of the project. These challenges also present opportunities to further engage communities and drive innovative solutions tailored to local realities.
Community Feedback and Lessons learned
Community leaders shared valuable insights:
Appreciation for the positive impact the SUNNY project is expected to bring to livelihoods.
A call for increased training programs on renewable energy maintenance and business development.
The need for broader engagement of youth and women in project activities.
Through the engagement process, several lessons emerged:
Local knowledge enhances the relevance of waste mapping data and ensures sustainability.
Hands-on, practical training is essential for effective capacity-building.
Sustained collaboration with local government improves project implementation.
Critical Observations and recommendations for future activities
Some notable observations included:
Awareness of sustainable energy solutions remains relatively low, necessitating ongoing sensitization.
Collaboration with local authorities facilitated smoother implementation.
Some community members had expectations of monetary incentives for participation.
To ensure the continued success of the SUNNY project, the following recommendations were made:
Increase the frequency of training sessions and workshops.
Implement more practical demonstrations on waste management and renewable energy.
Strengthen partnerships with local government and private sector actors to enhance sustainability.
The inception meeting successfully laid the groundwork for the SUNNY project, bringing together key stakeholders who demonstrated a shared commitment to its success. The end-of-year feedback meeting provided critical insights that will shape future activities, emphasizing the need for continuous engagement, technical capacity building, and sustainable collaboration.
As CTEN moves forward, it remains dedicated to empowering communities through digital inclusion, renewable energy education, and waste management initiatives, ensuring that refugees and host communities alike become more self-reliant and resilient.
Access to clean and sustainable energy is not just a technical challenge; it’s a fundamental aspect of improving lives.
In the face of displacement and resource scarcity, access to sustainable energy is a cornerstone for building resilience, promoting livelihoods, and ensuring dignity. At the Bidibidi Refugee Settlement in Northwest Uganda, the SUNNY project is implementing innovative renewable energy solutions to address these pressing challenges and explore their impact across the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) nexus.
Home to 270,000 displaced persons—primarily fleeing civil war in South Sudan—Bidibidi is one of the largest refugee settlements in the world. With no access to the national electric grid, both refugees and the surrounding host communities rely heavily on expensive, unreliable, and environmentally harmful energy sources. Through collaboration with partners UMAK, META, SOLHYD, AKO, and SOLEK, SUNNY is bringing sustainable solutions that integrate energy, food security, and agricultural productivity to unlock a brighter future.
The Energy and Development Context in Bidibidi
Since its establishment in 2016, Bidibidi has faced significant challenges in meeting its energy needs:
Limited Energy Access: Refugees and local host communities rely on costly fuel-powered generators, biomass, and small solar systems for basic needs.
Impact on Healthcare and Education: Health centers and schools struggle with inadequate power.
Food Insecurity: The region’s dependence on subsistence farming and limited irrigation systems makes agriculture vulnerable to weather variability.
Environmental and Economic Strains: Heavy reliance on biomass leads to deforestation, while expensive fuel for generators burdens local businesses and households.
SUNNY’s approach combines biogas, hydrogen cooking, cold storage, and smart solar irrigation to address these challenges. The project aims to improve energy access while fostering sustainable economic growth and food security
SUNNY Project Objectives and Vision
SUNNY aims to demonstrate clean energy solutions while assessing their environmental, social, and economic impact. Our core goals are to:
Reduce Carbon Footprint by shifting from firewood and diesel.
Enhance Safety with cleaner, safer cooking and energy options.
Empower Communities by boosting economic opportunities and gender equality.
Promote Climate Resilience through sustainable energy models for displaced populations worldwide.
Demonstrated Solutions at Bidibidi
1- Biogas systems
Biogas technology converts organic waste into clean, sustainable cooking fuel. SUNNY is testing. At Bidibidi, the SUNNY team is testing the efficiency and stability of biogas systems tailored to the local context :
Reliability: Real-time gas meters track performance to ensure consistency.
Efficiency: Monitoring organic input rates, gas production, and system stability.
2- Combined Hydrogen and biogas cookstoves
Cooking remains one of the primary energy demands in refugee settlements. The SUNNY project is introducing hybrid cookstoves capable of using hydrogen, biogas, and LPG, offering a versatile, clean cooking alternative for households.
Performance and versatility: Fuel-switching flexibility and energy efficiency.
Safety and Usability: Trials ensure the stoves are practical, safe, and user-friendly for households.
3- Refrigerated Food Storage
The SUNNY project is addressing food security challenges by introducing energy-efficient cold storage systems. Developed by AKO, these systems preserve perishable goods, reduce food waste, and support local agricultural businesses.
Community Impact: By extending the shelf life of perishable produce, cold storage solutions will empower farmers and businesses to reduce losses, access new markets, and improve incomes.
Energy Efficiency: Ensuring optimal performance with minimal energy consumption.
Reliability and Usability: Systems will be evaluated for ease of use, temperature consistency, and durability under local conditions.
4- Smart solar irrigation
Water management is critical for agricultural productivity, particularly in regions like Bidibidi, where farming is the main economic activity. SUNNY is implementing solar-powered irrigation systems that maximize water efficiency while integrating renewable energy solutions :
Standardization: Developing protocols for seamless interoperability among renewable energy systems to enhance integration and scalability.
WEF (Water-Energy-Food) Nexus Analysis: SUNNY is analyzing how smart irrigation systems, combined with energy-efficient cold storage and clean cooking technologies, contribute to sustainability and resilience.
Remote Monitoring: Real-time data analytics will optimize irrigation schedules, cooking efficiency, and cold storage performance.
Energy Sharing: Surplus solar energy from irrigation systems will be studied for its potential to power hydrogen production, creating synergies across technologies.
Why It Matters: a Transformative Impact
The SUNNY demonstration site at Bidibidi delivers benefits across key areas:
Energy Access: Clean, affordable reliable energy for homes, health centers, schools, and businesses.
Food Security: Smart irrigation and cold storage reduce food losses and improve productivity.
Economic Empowerment: Farmers and local entrepreneurs access opportunities to expand businesses and their incomes.
Environmental Sustainability: Lower biomass and fuel usage mitigate deforestation and carbon emissions.
Resilient Communities: By addressing energy, food, and economic needs, SUNNY fosters long-term stability and self-reliance.
A Model for the Future
The Bidibidi demonstration site highlights the transformative potential of renewable energy to address interconnected challenges in refugee settlements and surrounding communities. By integrating clean energy solutions across the WEF nexus, SUNNY is paving the way for scalable, sustainable models that can be replicated in similar contexts worldwide.
Together, we can harness renewable energy to build resilient, empowered, and sustainable communities
Access to clean and sustainable energy is not just a technical challenge; it’s a fundamental aspect of improving lives.
In communities where resources are scarce, energy solutions can make the difference between survival and progress. At the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda, the SUNNY project has taken its first major step toward this goal, working alongside partners PA, SOLHYD, and SOLEK to deliver innovative clean energy solutions.
Located in Rwanda’s Eastern Province, the Mahama Refugee Camp has been home to over 58,000 displaced individuals from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) since its establishment in 2015. While some progress has been made in introducing renewable energy sources, access to sustainable energy remains limited, impacting health, education, safety, and economic development for both refugees and the surrounding host communities.
Through the SUNNY project, we aim to test and implement pioneering solutions that will address these challenges, focusing on two key innovations: hydrogen-powered cooking systems and solar home systems.
The Energy Context at Mahama Refugee Camp
The Mahama Refugee Camp spans 175 hectares and operates under significant energy constraints. Although efforts have been underway since 2022 to connect the camp to the national electric grid, the current reliance on firewood, diesel generators, and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) poses serious challenges:
Environmental Impact: Firewood contributes to deforestation, and diesel generators emit harmful carbon.
Financial Burden: Diesel and LPG costs strain humanitarian resources.
Health and Safety Risks: Indoor air pollution and fire hazards harm community well-being.
Existing renewable efforts, such as the Nasho Solar Power Plant and solar panels at Mahama’s health center, have been impactful but need scaling to meet growing demands.
SUNNY Project: Objectives and Vision
SUNNY aims to demonstrate clean energy solutions while assessing their environmental, social, and economic impact. Our core goals are to:
Reduce Carbon Footprint by shifting from firewood and diesel.
Enhance Safety with cleaner, safer cooking and energy options.
Empower Communities by boosting economic opportunities and gender equality.
Promote Climate Resilience through sustainable energy models for displaced populations worldwide.
To achieve these goals, SUNNY has introduced two key solutions at its first demonstration site: hydrogen-powered cookstoves and solar home systems.
1. Hydrogen cooking solutions
Cooking remains a critical challenge for many refugees. Traditional methods, such as using firewood and charcoal, are unsustainable and pose severe risks to health and the environment. The SUNNY project is introducing hydrogen-powered cooking solutions that offer a cleaner, safer alternative.
Key Features Being Tested:
Hydrogen Generation: Monitored through solar hydrogen panels.
Storage Innovations: Hydrogen stored in truck tire inner tubes; evaluated for pressure, leaks, and portability.
Performance & Safety: A 100-hour test ensures efficiency, safety sensors detect failures, and system reliability is validated.
These systems offer a practical, safe alternative to firewood and LPG, improving household health and safety and reducing carbon emissions.
2. Solar Home Systems
Solar energy has already begun to make a difference at Mahama, but access to solar-powered systems for individual households remains limited. As part of the SUNNY project, solar home systems will be installed to test their performance, gather user feedback, and determine their scalability.
How It Works:
Free installations for selected households.
User feedback collected via ANGAHA CRM for performance monitoring and issue resolution.
Community engagement ensures solutions align with household needs.
This process ensures solar systems are effective, user-friendly, and scalable for broader implementation.
This approach ensures that the systems are user-friendly, effective, and tailored to the community’s specific energy requirements.
Why this matters: the broader impact
The introduction of hydrogen cooking solutions and solar home systems at Mahama Refugee Camp has far-reaching implications for refugees, host communities, and humanitarian actors alike:
Environmental benefits: Reduces deforestation caused by firewood collection and carbon emissions.
Economic opportunities: Supports small businesses, creating jobs and lowering energy costs. SUNNY’s solutions will also reduce the financial burden of purchasing LPG and diesel.
Health & Safety Improvements: Minimizes smoke exposure, fire hazards, and respiratory illnesses.
Community Integration: Benefits both refugees and host populations, fostering shared progress and social cohesion.
Looking ahead: a model for global impact
Mahama is just the beginning. The SUNNY project aims to create a scalable model for addressing energy challenges in refugee camps worldwide. Insights gained here will inform future clean energy initiatives, proving that sustainable solutions can empower communities everywhere.
At SUNNY, we believe access to energy is a human right. Through innovation and collaboration, we can build a brighter, more sustainable future for all.
