Solar Energy and Kambaku Lodges
Solar Energy and Kambaku Lodges
We took over Kambaku Safari Lodge in 2011, with only a generator for power, and it was the only option to convert the camp to solar power. In 2011, the International Energy Agency said that “the development of affordable, inexhaustible and clean solar energy technologies will have huge longer-term benefits. It will increase countries’ energy security through reliance on an indigenous, inexhaustible, and mostly import-independent resource, enhance sustainability, reduce pollution, lower the costs of mitigating global warming …. These advantages are global.”
It was a long process taking around 8 months from start to finish, but since then we have been running completely successfully on solar energy.
When we took over River Sands in 2013, the camp was on the grid, and seeing that Safari Lodge was running so successfully on solar, the decision was made to convert River Sands as well.
This project was massive, including the erecting of over 400 solar panels, invertors and a battery array to keep the lights on for at least 3 days.
All this without forfeiting any of the luxuries that River Sands has to offer.
Advantages of Solar Energy on the Environment
As solar power is a great sustainable, green energy choice and it also has huge benefits for our planet.
Some of the key advantages of solar energy on the environment include:
Using less water
Water is one of our most precious natural resources. Africa is one of the driest continent on the planet, and we run the risk of running out of fresh water in the future. Traditional electricity production can use thousands of litres of water each year. Water is used for cooling generators, processing and refining fuel and transporting fuel through pipes. Generating power through solar panels, however, uses no water whatsoever. The operation of solar photovoltaic cells doesn’t require water at all to generate electricity, reducing the strain on this precious resource.
Reducing air pollution
The air we breathe can help or hinder our health and wellbeing. Electricity generation from fossil fuels can generate harmful carbon dioxide and methane gases that lower the quality of the atmosphere. Breathing poor quality air on a daily basis can have dire consequences for our health. Air pollution has been linked to asthma and allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia, headaches, anxiety, heart attacks and even some cancers. Generating electricity from solar panels produce no harmful emissions resulting in cleaner air.
Help to slow climate change
The release of toxic gases into the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, doesn’t just contribute to air pollution, but also contributes to the enhanced greenhouse effect. While the greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms the Earth’s surface to a liveable temperature, human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels, have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. This has led to the enhanced greenhouse effect, which is warming our earth faster than ever before. In recent years, this has been linked to a number of catastrophic weather events, such as flooding, cyclones, storms, extreme heat and drought. Generating electricity from solar panels produce no greenhouse gases whatsoever, and so can help to reduce the effect of climate change if used widely
Reducing the business’s carbon footprint
Solar energy is one of the cleanest sources of energy, and it is more efficient and sustainable. Solar panels don’t use any water to generate electricity, they don’t release harmful gases into the environment, and the source of their energy is abundance.
We at Kambaku take our carbon footprint and impact on the environment extremely seriously and we are proud to say that we have two very efficient solar systems in our camps.
We are committed to sustainability at Kambaku Lodges and ensuring that we make as little impact as possible on the environment around us. Moving to solar energy is just one of the many changes we have made to ensure sustainability.
