Huawei is rolling out a new information and communication technology solution built explicitly for the hydroelectric power generation sector.
Known as an Evolved Long Term Evolution (LTE) Private Broadband Network, it is an intelligent energy management system built to ensure efficient power generation, plant operations, and distribution.
In a statement from the head office, Huawei Kenya CEO Will Meng said that the solution is being implemented across Africa for hydropower generation plants whose thick concrete walls are a challenge for existing communication systems.
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“Huawei’s eLTE Broadband Network penetrates the thick concrete walls to provide all essential communication and operational management services across the entire company,”
said, Will. He added that the network carries voice, video, and data services above and below ground throughout the plant, enabling instant communication between the control room and maintenance staff. It effectively covers indoor and outdoor working areas without extensive cabling and installation, including roadways inside the dam, generator rooms, and employee living areas within the plant’s vicinity, reducing delays and introducing certainty on its status.
With fea. Res like “push-to-talk” and group calls for voice and video; the private network makes routine maintenance and handling of emergencies easier and more efficient at the power plant.
Will explained that staff could communicate via video call to fix maintenance challenges in record time and that building such modern networks also provides capacity for growth, enabling the intelligent digital transformation of the site in the future.
Clean energy is becoming increasingly important in their national energy mix, with Kenya on the Eastern side registering 57% as hydro power, about 32% as thermal and the rest as geothermal and emergency thermal power. Solar PV and Wind power play a minor role contributing 2%. Kenya’s building stock is projected to grow to about 47 million square meters by 2025, with an attendant rise in electricity supply to the building and construction sector expected mainly from renewable energy by 2030. Innovations like the eLTE solution are intended to enable hydropower producers like KenGen to effectively manage and distribute power to meet the high demand more efficiently and reliably.
The eLTE solution has been tested in Ghana for the Bui Power Authority (BPA),, which has a hybrid hydropower and solar plant. BPA has commissioned the first 5MW Floating Solar Plant in the Sub-Saharan region and supplies power through the Bui Switchyard to the National Interconnected Transmission System (NITS).
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Its hydropower plant produces 404MW of electricity while an additional 50MW of power is generated from the solar installations on site, with the total renewable power output contributing around 6-7% of the total power generated in-country.
Speaking when he commissioned the new Huawei system, Ghana’s Energy Minister, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, said that with the country striding towards achieving universal electricity access by 2025, it is essential for it to unleash the transformational power of ICT in optimizing the operations at power plants, increasing the efficiency of renewable energy use, and ensuring a stable and cost-effective electricity supply to many more households nationwide.
He said this is a practice that should be replicated across the continent as most African countries expand their reliance on renewable energy sources.
