Prof.Rexford Assasie (middle) in a group photograph with some stakeholders of the community
Yeboakrom in the Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region which has been relying on limited solar energy, would soon be connected to the national grid.
The farming community with a population of 700 people, has been enjoying electricity since 2019, courtesy of an electrification programme under the sponsorship of DAAD -Germany through the Technical University of Munich (TUM), that provided 20KVA solar energy to rural electrification, especially in the global south.
However, owing to the increasing demand for electricity in Yeboakrom, the community has experienced an upsurge in the usage of electrical gadgets, a development that incapacitated the smooth operation of solar energy.
Led by Prof. Rexford Assasie Oppong, head of the Department of Architecture at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), the project is made of three areas namely architecture, entrepreneurship, and energy.
As part of electrifying the community, a two-kilometer power line was laid, and houses were connected to the 250KV solar energy. The advent of solar electrification in the community has led to development such as the springing up of new houses and, the sale of frozen food, amongst others.
Prof. Oppong, who is the brain behind the 250KV Yeboakrom renewable energy project, presented two deep freezers to the community as they work towards connectivity to the national grid.
This development, according to him, forms part of the entrepreneurship aspect of the project that aims to give quality life to rural communities.
According to him, a study carried out in the community revealed that power consumption in the area had surpassed the capacity of renewable power hence, the project could not support the community.
Prof. Oppong also indicated that in deliberation with the community, they decided that, looking at the way the layout had been done, from Yeboakrom to Boamang Dumase, which is a walking distance, they needed just ten poles to connect to the national grid. “So as a community, they came together and they have procured ten of the poles which are about to be worked for onward connection to the national grid, based on the two km power layout that was laid for this particular solar,” he said.
As a result of this development, Prof. Oppong disclosed to the media that the solar facility has become a stand-alone facility to be used as a cold store, having procured two deep freezers for the community so that they would be used to sell iced water, drinks, meat on a commercial basis a way of sustaining the project.
Prof. Oppong mentioned that the new phase is such that the community continues to owe it, as he continues to provide the scientific and academic knowledge to be used for research and also help to develop the area.
The Chief of Yeboakrom, Nana Omane Akyeamfour, commended Prof.Rexford Assasie Oppong for his generosity, adding the deep freezers will go a long way in developing the community.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi