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Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 9:32 pm
by CEOCambodiaNews
Solar solution: the company aiming to power up rural Cambodia
By: Robin Spiess - Posted on: May 31, 2018 | Business
As a project manager for Kamworks, one of Cambodia’s leading solar energy companies, Matt Viner is working to develop a solar platform that will provide rural households with affordable, reliable, renewable energy
How have solar energy products changed since Kamworks started in 2006, and why do you think Cambodia’s solar sector continues to struggle to attract investment?
Nowadays, there are more readily available products, often produced in China, and people are beginning to trust and understand the idea of solar energy more and more.
Kamworks is involved in multiple solar projects in Cambodia and abroad, including rooftop solar, solar water pumps, solar street lamps, solar drying – we even have solar systems rigged to help with incubation of chicken eggs. Most recently, we created a pay-as-you-go solar unit to sell to rural households that are not connected to the power grid, ensuring access to dependable electricity...
http://sea-globe.com/solar-solution-the ... -cambodia/
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Thu May 31, 2018 10:17 pm
by bangkokhooker
“Former American President Barack] Obama has a nice quote about this, basically saying that if a country isn’t in charge of its power, it’s not in charge of its decisions.”
unfortunately he wasnt talking about solar power, which is expensive and has a limited life, and expecting rural farmers to look after it is ridiculous. pay as you go? lol
you will need at least 100W panel (it will be about 4ft by 2.5ft), it will take a few hours to charge a 100amph battery, plus an inverter and controller (plus you cant just stick a load of different batteries together and chanrge them,they will fail.you need deep cycle batteries not car batteries) unless youre running 12V fans/lights.
theres a reason why solar is not popular.it is only viable if subsidised,i am assuming this guy is an ngo
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2018 12:31 am
by CEOCambodiaNews
Who are Kamworks ?
Kamworks Ltd
Sector: Consumer Goods, Energy, Manufacturing / Industry & Engineering / Conglomerate, Retail
Chapter: Direct EuroCham
ACTIVITIES
Established by solar engineers in 2006, Kamworks is Cambodia’s leading solar energy company.
Kamworks designs, builds and services solar energy systems for large roofs, in order to produce electricity cheaper than EDC. Payback times for large solar roofs are in the range of 3-5 years.
Kamworks also develops solar farms for large scale electricity production for special economic zones and industrial parks.
Kamworks operates as EPC contractor for solar projects in Cambodia. Kamworks offers PAYGO solar systems for rural homes to distribution companies in and outside Cambodia. These systems are remotely controlled through a data connection for better payment compliance and service, can be sold on credit and repaid with mobile money.
BACKGROUND
Kamworks has the longest track record of grid connected solar energy projects in Cambodia. Kamworks employs over 10 expat solar energy specialists, back up by a team of Cambodian staff. Kamworks is a clean business, is fully compliant with Cambodian law and has audited financial accounts.
Since 2006, Kamworks has directly impacted over 220,000 rural lives. Kamworks has won multiple awards by Worldbank, ADB, etc and has conducted projects for many of the big donors. It has partnerships with leading companies such as Cellcard, WING mobile money, Vision Fund, SMA inverters, Don Bosco, global consultancy ERM, Kiva.org, etc.
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2018 4:29 pm
by CEOCambodiaNews
June 7, 2018
Solar company plans subsidiary in Cambodia
SolarHome, a Singapore-based solar energy company, plans to enter the Cambodian market this year, introducing the Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) model for off-grid households in the Kingdom.
SolarHome offers a solar lighting system based on a subscription plan. Customers make an initial $10 down payment, which is followed by daily, weekly, or monthly repayments through scratch cards or mobile money.
After completing the payment plan, the system is “unlocked’ and transferred to the customer. According to a company press release, this “rent-to-own” model enhances customers’ access to financing and increases the affordability of their solar energy solutions.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50497847/s ... -cambodia/
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:05 pm
by tarariverboat
i am a big fan of solar power,i converted all my boats to run on solar about 6 years ago,the batteries lasted longer than expected at approx 5 years,the panels should last at least 25 years.so instead of running generators,with all the issues and costs involved in running the generators, solar is in the long term cheaper and much cleaner,on the biggest boat(Queen Tara) we have 4x200amph batteries and 10 solar panels,this is an over supply but we also have a few large parties and weddings to cater for so the extra power is needed at times,we run over 100 LED lights and fans and pumps,music ect.
just for an example on the costs the smallest boat i have has a 200amph battery and 2 smaller panels,runs music,pumps and about 35 LED lights,the total cost was about $1000 usd but i save approx $200 usd a month on not running the generator,so in 5 months the unit had paid for itself.so the battery was changed last year for about $220 and lasted 5 years,where as runing the generator would cost me $200 a month with diesel,oil,and maint.also of course solar is constantly On and no need to fire up the gennie:)
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:14 pm
by bangkokhooker
have you included the inverters and distributors and installation in your costs?
if so that seems very cheap
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 4:53 am
by tarariverboat
bangkokhooker wrote: ↑Sun Jun 10, 2018 9:14 pm
have you included the inverters and distributors and installation in your costs?
if so that seems very cheap
from memory,the cost for the 60ft Mekong Tara Prince,was $1000 that included the panels and battery,and all other items needed,inverters,cable and installation,took them 2 days to install,i only paid for the light fixtures and bulbs,we used 2w LED but have since increased to 5w LED for most lights.(i am finding it difficult to find 2w LED these days) the largest boat the Queen Tara cost was about $3000,took 4 days to install as she is 120ft long on 4 levels,something like 1300sq mts of lights and cables ect,again from memory that price included everything except i supplied the light fixtures and bulbs,i think i also supplied the cable,the cable is very cheap ,i just brought some more the other day for another boat and its like $5 for 50mts.i have used a few different companies on different boats and found khmer solar to be the better,less hassle and just a few minor issues,if you are off the grid,the solar is the way to go,once its set up and installed it looks after itself,the batteries are sealed and no need to do anything,
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:58 am
by that genius
Cambodia/SE Asia must have one of the best climates for solar power bar the Sahara and Atacama/ Kalahari deserts. Even in rainy season, lots of sunshine hours.
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:04 pm
by cpandrea
Hey
I visit a few times per year a small government primary school in the Cardamom Mountain of a very poor village. I support the school there and no NGO is operating in that area regularly.
The school is in a off-grid area and I´m thinking with friends to support the school to get electricity from solar panel to use a TV and DVD-player to play English DVD. In that area are not English native speaker and the teachers don’t speak English at all or just a little bit. Thereby the kids could learn/improve English a little bit. I could maybe find some used lap top to donate to the school. I cannot buy desk-top, because the school don’t have a dedicated computer room or the space for it.
Also, the solar system must connect 1 TV and 1 DVD-player or 10 lap top at the same time. The TV and lap top will be used only during the daylight time, in this case is even necessary to have the battery ?
The upgrading with a battery could extend the use of school building in the evening sometime for community related use too.
The first step I want to check, if it is possible financially to do that, because I don’t want to grow up false expectations in that community.
Is it possible for someone to put together for me the specification for a solar system to supply the TV and lap tops and the approximate price in Cambodia for it
thanks
Re: Solar power for rural Cambodia
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2018 7:22 pm
by that genius
I would imagine rural domestic lighting was a more pressing need.