Global Trading Agency: Solar Mini-Grid Capacity Building Project

The Global Trading Agency (GTA) Group is the grantees signed for the new Off-Grid program launched by the USADF in association with FYI. This project aims at providing electricity to multiple households and businesses within the Gudele-West area in Juba. Only 1% of the population has access to electricity and power despite having the advantage of sunshine all year round. The GTA group decided to take advantage of this by coming up with the idea of using solar energy to supply their targeted consumers.

Up to 750 people (and more in the future) will benefit directly from this project. In South Sudan, there is a high reliance on diesel generators which are quite expensive in the long run-thus many households remain without power and most people lack the capital to start businesses due to the high costs of owning a generator. Solar power in comparison to diesel generations is very efficient and cheaper to maintain in the long run. The only issue is that the installation of a solar panel can go up to 10 times the cost of buying a generator and the local population lack the possibility of maintenance and the high repair costs make it quite expensive to sustain. Due to the high demand for electrical power, the GTA group has decided to devise a project where they would provide solar systems to homes, businesses, NGO’s and government institutions is a prime investment in the South Sudanese context especially in the Capital Juba where GTA is based. Key buyers that GTA has made contact with and provided power to in the past include homes, micro-business Enterprises, pharmacies, NGOs, local churches, hospitals, schools, and government ministries. The eminent success of this project will greatly contribute to the South Sudanese economy as more people within Juba will be able to open more businesses without having to worry about powering their business as they now will have an affordable and reliable electricity supply.

GTA aims to provide affordable electricity to households and businesses in Juba which will over time increase the quality of life for the residences, as well as the running of the businesses being supplied while reducing contributing to improving the environment by providing a cleaner energy alternative to generators which causes noise pollution and the adverse effects that burning fuel has by emitting pollutants such as Nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere. This project is one of many in the road of making South Sudan more environmentally friendly and developing the economy.