The first phase of construction work on the Lumbwe photovoltaic power station 200 km from Lubumbashi was completed in May. This project of the Congolese company Kipay Investment is executed exclusively by Congolese companies.
From our correspondent in Lubumbashi,
On the site of the Lumbwe photovoltaic power plant, three young Congolese companies are hard at work. They participated in the design as well as the realization of the project. Here, subcontracting is exclusively local.
« It is a state of mind that had to be created among the Congolese, because if we want to develop our Congo, we must start with ourselves», hammersEric Monga, the director of the company Kipay Investment, boss of the project.The proof is that it needed high labor intensity, it was done, high intellectual intensity, it was done, and high capital intensity… and we raised the capital locally. »
Solar panels laid out over 7 hectares
A total of 4,368 solar panels of 550 watts each are installed on a vast field of 7 hectares. The company Smart Congo takes care of the installation of solar panels, explains Joel Musikingala, its managing director.
« Place the stringers. The spars are the square tubes you see there. We replace them on U-shaped supports. Afterwards, we tighten them, we put the crosspieces“says Joel Musikingala. “Then the teams come by to install the panels. A second team comes by to do the tightening and adjustment. This is how we make sure that we followed the standards and that a person did not forget what had to be done. »
The plant is equipped with a control room equipped with an artificial intelligence system. Ruben Lwabeya is the director of Leading Building Katanga, LBK, another Congolese contractor. It indicates that “the control room is equipped with computers and servers that allow us to predict the weather, the direction of the wind and also the demand for electricity that comes to us from SNEL to optimize our contribution to SNEL. »
For 2.4 megawatt operation by May 2023
The construction of the photovoltaic plant was preceded by civil works carried out by EKMM, a group of young Congolese entrepreneurs. “It was we who started the work first, clearing so many termite mounds, also treating the access road“recalls Dominique Kabamba, project director. “Because before, for 4 km, we could do more than an hour. And now it’s 20 minutes max. The internal road here, we did that, all the concrete, and also the construction of the guest house. »
For now, engineers are working on the installation of a 7 km long power line. By May, 2.4 megawatts will be tapped into the national electricity grid.