Research project on urban development launched in Namibia

Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK) and the Polytechnic of Namibia (PON) launched a new research project on urban resource efficiency on 1 October 2015. Main themes for the project are clean water and sanitation, renewable energy, housing and ICT and Internet of Things (IoT) in Namibia.

 The two-year project is called NAMURBAN (Urban Resource Efficiency in Developing Countries) – pilot study of Walvis Bay, Namibia. NAMURBAN is financed by the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation Tekes, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, SAMK and ten Finnish companies. It has a total budget of 440.000 euros, approximately 6.6 Million NAD.

NAMURBAN widens the co-operation between SAMK and PON

SAMK has entered into a co-operation agreement with PON on issues relating to land and sea since 2012. The co-operation has been related to especially on the marine research vessel R/V Mirabilis and maritime education.

NAMURBAN widens the co-operation between SAMK and PON from education to research and development work. The aim of the project is to develop a framework for urban resource efficiency utilization in developing countries using   Namibia as the pilot country. NAMURBAN is part of Business with Impact (BEAM) program, funded by Tekes and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. BEAM goals are to meet the needs of developing countries and to provide Finnish companies with new business opportunities in these growing markets.

Ten Finnish companies active in the project

In the project, ten Finnish companies are actively participating and presenting high know-how and technology on housing, renewable energy, water and sanitation as well as ICT and IoT applications. The companies are Aquapure Ltd., Fimuskraft Ltd., GA90 Recycling Ltd., IntLog Ltd., Naps Solar Systems Inc., Rannan Teollisuuskone Ltd., Riffid Ltd., Sansox Ltd., Scanhomes Ltd., and SWOcean Ltd.

The specific solutions of NAMURBAN are based on the analysis of the current situation and needs for urban technology and systems in Namibia.

Coastal town Walvis Bay as the pilot site

Namibia’s vision 2030 states that by the year 2030, Namibia will be a prosperous and industrialized country, developed by its human resources, enjoying peace, harmony and political stability. Namibia’s National Development plan (NDP4) focuses on increased income equality, employment creation, and high and sustained economic growth. The economic priority areas are logistics, tourism, manufacturing and agriculture.

The research project will be the first to study and develop a sustainable technological concept on urban environments in developing counties using a pilot site, coastal town of Walvis Bay in Namibia. The expected results include proposals for solutions on affordable housing, increase in renewable energy and clean water in Namibia.

Text by project manager Minna Keinänen-Toivola, Ph.D.

Photo: The NAMURBAN project was officially launched on 1^st of October 2015 in a ceremony at the Residence of H.E. Ambassador of Finland, Ms. Anne Saloranta in Windhoek, Namibia. In the photo, from left Ms., Ambassador Anne Saloranta, Embassy of Finland, Windhoek (Namibia), Dr., Rector Tjama Tjivikua, Polytechnic of Namibia, and Dr., project manager Minna Keinänen-Toivola, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences. Photo by Heikki Koivisto.

A Leap Towards Solar Energy

There is a growing interest in solar energy in Finland. The systems are becoming more common and it is easier to get the information. As a result, the threshold of producing your own energy has become lower.

Households have become more interested in solar energy systems due to the considerable decline of solar energy system prices during the past few years. In addition, several people think that it is important to increase the use of renewable energy forms in order to reduce the impact of climate change.

SOLARLEAP Satakunta is a joint project of SAMK and vocational education institute WinNova which started at the beginning of the year and will continue until end of 2016. The aim is to remove barriers from using solar energy. These include, e.g. the small amount of companies in the business, shortage of experts and the complexity of permission and agreement practices.

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. Synergy is provided by SOLARLEAP Varsinais-Suomi project, which is a similar project going on in the neighboring region Varsinais-Suomi in co-operation of Turku University of Applied Sciences and Vocational Institute of Turku.

Over 130 households signed up for SOLARLEAP Satakunta pilot survey. In this survey the possibilities for these households to utilize solar energy are mapped. Ten households are selected as pilot sites. These households purchase with the help of SAMK’s students a solar energy system, which is installed by WinNova’s students in the project.

Solar energy system performances of these pilot sites will be monitored during the following five years providing concrete follow-up information open for the public. This helps all interested people to see how solar energy systems work in ordinary Finnish residential houses.

Training for entrepreneurship

In order to make use of the demand for solar energy by the households the companies need to develop their services. The staff of SOLARLEAP Satakunta arranged solar training for project partner companies. Some of these companies are already working in the field and other aim for the solar energy markets along with the project.

The purpose of this training was to provide them with the basic information of solar energy technologies, marketing and system design. The aim was to promote the competitiveness of the companies and to improve the processes inside the companies. The training also had participants from the municipal construction authorities.

New competences through practical project learning

Students are involved in designing and installing the solar energy systems in the pilot sites. As a result, new competent professionals are trained to the field.

During the summer 2015 SAMK’s students together with the SAMK project engineers carried out operation where solar energy utilization possibilities were mapped for each household signed for the pilot survey.

During autumn 2015 and spring 2016 SAMK students will plan a solar energy system for the selected households. Students are in charge of the overall process from design and of acquisition of the solar energy system to installation and commissioning.

Text: Meri Olenius & Teemu Heikkinen
The writers are project engineer and project manager of the project. Cover photo by Katri Väkiparta: A part of the SAMK Solar Energy Lab.

More information on www.solarforum.fi
Teemu Heikkinen, project manager, teemu.heikkinen(a)samk.fi