SOLAR POWER PARKS (UP TO 150MW)

AND
WIND POWER PLANTS (UP TO 100MW)

TENTATIVE
LAYOUT PLAN
PILOT SOLAR POWER PARK
KABULASOKE (UGANDA)

Prepared by:
David Alobo, Ph.D
Bryan Xsabo Strategy Consultants
(Overall Project Coordinator)
February 2013

Prepared for the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) as part of documentation for the permit
process in accordance with the Electricity Act of the Republic of Uganda.

Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

PREAMBLE

In just 15 years from now, the global energy mix will enter an irreversible phase of dramatic, indeed
revolutionary, change that will lead to the dominance of photovoltaic power for centuries to come.
With this project, Uganda is demonstrating the kind of foresight and strategic thinking that many
countries, including rich ones like Germany, have adopted for the sake of the environment, equity
and future generations.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

CONTENTS
I.

Introduction

Page 4

II.

Location

Page 6

III.

Layout Plan

Page 8

IV.

Pre-Environmental-Impact-Assessment

Page 22

V.

Time Schedule

Page 24

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

I.

INTRODUCTION
This is part of the 450 million Euros project

SOLAR POWER PARKS (UP TO 150MW) AND

WIND POWER PARKS (UP TO 100MW)
UGANDA,
a joint-venture arrangement where Mola Solar Systems (Uganda) Limited is the
EXECUTING AGENCY and Bryan Xsabo Strategy Consultants (Uganda) Limited the
OVERALL PROJECT COORDINATOR.
The goal is to continuously provide up to 150MW of reliable clean power from solar
energy and up to 100MW of equally reliable clean power from wind energy to the
national grid at the end of the implementation phase.
The total output from the project in terms of kilowatt hours will be as follows upon
completion of all the power plants:

Solar Power Parks (150MWp):

225 GWh per annum;

Wind Power Plants (100MW):

300 GWh per annum.

The text of the corresponding Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Uganda Electricity
Transmission Company Limited (UETCL), the Government-owned bulk buyer for the
national grid, has already been agreed upon. The PPA is valid for an initial period of 20
years and will be extended automatically for a further 20 years.
The official feed-in tariff fixed by the Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) for power
ensuing from wind energy is 0.13 US-Dollars (0.0985 Euros) per kilowatt hour (kWh).
This will also apply to the wind power parks of this project.
There being no official feed-in tariff for electricity ensuing from solar energy, the project
is in the final stage of negotiations with ERA for a special feed-in tariff for power ensuing
from its solar power parks.
These solar power parks will provide approximately 225GWh of power per annum to the
national grid from the following sites:

Kabulasoke (Gomba District):

20MW;

Lira (Lira District):

10MW;

Nkenda (Kasese District):

20MW;

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Nkonge (Mubende District):

50MW;

Opuyo (Soroti District):

50MW.

Pilot Power Parks

The project will begin with a 60 million Euros pilot solar power park in Kabulasoke
(Gomba District) with a capacity of 20MWp (30 GWh per year) and a 40 million Euros
pilot wind power plant, also with a capacity of 20MW (but about 60 GWh per annum).

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

II.

LOCATION
The pilot solar power park will be located in Kabulasoke (Gomba District) in Central
Uganda

2km from Kabulasoke on the Kanoni-Kabulasoke road on the hills off the UETCL
substation:

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

The relevant land, which will be purchased by the project from the respective owners at a
price negotiated through the good offices of the District Chairman, is typical farmland,
albeit not fully in use for agriculture, with simple homes scattered here and there, as this
satellite picture and other photos in the general project presentation show:

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

III.

LAYOUT PLAN

The operation of a solar power park is basic in nature.

Constructing solar power plants is equally a relatively simple matter that should not be
exaggerated through the issuance of complex layout and design plans especially in this
case where a customized turnkey photovoltaic system will be put together for the
project in advance by the manufacturers.
This will be a 20MW solar photovoltaic energy generating facility using thin film PV
modules to produce clean, renewable energy for national grid customers.
The pilot projects entire energy output will, therefore, be purchased by UETCL on behalf
of the Government of the Republic of Uganda for further sale to end-users across the
country.
Based on the level of radiation, which determines the energy output level, it has been
established that the project will require 7.5 acres of land for each MW.
This will translate into the following land requirement amounting to 150 acres in total:

775m x 775m if a squared design layout is determined most optimal; or

500m x 1,200m if a rectangular design proves more conducive.

A circular non-classical layout design with a diameter of 875m would also do.
In all, the pilot solar power park in Kabulasoke will have:

20,000 modules arranged in 4 major blocks (4 x 5MW), divided into 34 miniblocks with each mini-block consisting of 4,300 modules 125 watts and
capacity of 600kW;

100 converters;

4 transformer stations (Trafos) with generators for 5MW each;

1 grid connection cabinet; and

A high wire fence/1 strand barbed wire security fence.

The electricity will be fed into the national grid via an underground cable from the grid
connection cabinet that would connect into the existing UETCL sub-station in
Kabulasoke.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Each mini block will cover an area measuring 112.8m by 76.0m, so that the entire facility
will in the final analysis most probably cover an area measuring 830m by 410m as
follows

830m

410m

or any of the above mentioned design alternatives if feasibility studies deem such a
change in layout design to be more optimal
and deriving from the following simplified standard technical drawing with all the
modules grouped into 4 major blocks and 4 transformers (one for each block) whose
total output of 20MWp is then consolidated before being fed into the UETCL sub-station,
as the illustration below shows:

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Spacing Tilt and Line-Up of the Solar Modules

Spacing, line up and tilt of the modules will be as follows:

As illustrated below, the modules will be mounted on a single-base system...

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

with galvanic separation within the framework of a pile-driven foundation at depths

of between 1.30m and 2.50m that enables extremely quick, simple and yet efficient
assembly.
All the modules will be mounted in tables

that will connect, via angled brackets, to steel columns which will be driven into the
ground. These assemblies will be organized into arrays.
The final decision on the placement of arrays within the facility site will be based on:

site specific constraints, including topography and biological considerations,

which will be identified during the feasibility studies phase;

a geotechnical investigation for the finalization of the structural design

including final assessment of the required depth of piles that will be driven into
the ground to support the PV modules;

and the need to ensure that the modules fit beautifully into the scenery in a way
comparable to the following:

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Leisure Park

The whole site will be seeded with a proprietary grass mix to develop it into an area of
beautiful grassland with a wide range of flowering species to form a beautiful leisure park
to the benefit of the local population, visitors and local wildlife.
Details of these proposals, including the planting mixes, will be worked out as soon as
the project has received the power generation permit from ERA.

Wiring

The solar power plant will contain the following wiring components:

Battery/charger to provide back-up auxiliary power to the control system;

Control Building to house the electronic equipment that ensures adequate power
quality;

Revenue meter to monitor the amount of electricity produced by the solar

power park;

Feeder cabling for alternating current (AC) power from the inverter stations;

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Motor operated switch to disconnect the solar power plant from the distribution
grid whenever necessary.

Electrical cables will connect the panels together into strings. The strings of panels will
be connected to combiner boxes located at the end of a row of racks by cables mounted
to the underside of the racks.
Buried gatherings or feeder lines will connect the PV panel arrays/inverters to the four
onsite transformers.
Inverters convert direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC).
Transformers step-up the electrical current to the distribution voltage corresponding to
the needs of the UETCL sub-station, which will receive power from the facility in a single
combined and metered output.
The buried lines will be contained within the project location and will be buried to a
minimum depth of 1m.
The inverters and transformers will be based on concrete foundations and on specially
constructed areas that are in turn elevated to ensure proper drainage away from them
during the rainy season.
The cables will be installed by using a cable trenching machine or an excavator to create
a trench. The cable will then be dropped into the trench from a spool pulled by a truck.
While the material removed from the trench will be used as backfill in the trench, topsoil
and subsoil that is excavated will be stored and replaced separately on agricultural lands.
Equipment used in cable installation may include a backhoe or track mounted excavator,
and trenching/boring equipment.

Access Roads

A paved road that is designed for easy access by both lorries and normal sized vehicles
will be built off the Kanoni-Kabulasoke road up to the facility.
A smaller paved road will be constructed around the entire solar power park.
In-between the module groups, small roadways with a permeable gravel base, not
paved, will be constructed to allow easy access for regular inspection, maintenance
purposes and, if need be, repair work:

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

While the surrounding beautiful park will be open to the public for recreation, sports,
picnics etc., the modules themselves may be fenced to ensure safety to the public and

to prevent potential trespassing and vandalism:

The fence will be a metal chain link fence with strands of barbed wire and approximately
2.5m high.
The fences notwithstanding, there will be at least two 24-hour security guards located
on the site during construction and operation.
Surveillance methods such as security cameras, motion detectors or heat sensors will be
installed at locations along the project boundary.
Gates will be installed at the roads entering or exiting the solar power park.
Shielded area-specific lighting for security purposes will be limited to the major parts of
the facility. The level and intensity of lighting will be the minimum needed for security

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

and safety reasons. These lights will be turned on either by a local switch, as needed, or
by motion sensors that will be triggered by movement at a humans height.
Sensors on the security fencing will alert security personnel of possible intruders. Exterior
lights will be shielded and focused downward and toward the interior of the solar power
park to minimize lighting impacts to the night sky and to neighbouring areas.

Solar Power Park House

A small POWER PARK MANAGEMENT AND CONTROL HOUSE will be built at the main
entrance of the pilot solar power park maximum 3km from the UETCL sub-station.
This building will serve as offices for the Site Manager and other staff in addition to
housing the PARK CONTROL CENTRE and consolidation point for power from all the
individual modules of the facility.
There will also be a sort of Boys Quarters for security personnel.

High-Tech Surveillance On-Site and Off-Site

The entire solar power park will be equipped with world-class monitoring facilities both
on-site and remotely using intelligent digital systems.
The layout plan and design take the above into account.
24-hour on-site monitoring will be carried out by trained security personnel with:

state-of-the-art real-time digital monitoring equipment;

two to three modern bicycles;

one motor cycle and

a cross-country vehicle

operating under the on-site supervision of a SITE MANAGER.

This arrangement will be duplicated for each of the other solar power parks across the
country.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Remote monitoring will enable easy management and 24 hour real-time surveillance of
all the solar power parks by other authorized company personnel from the company
headquarters and from anywhere else via internet:

The relevant online information will include:

Energy yield for the day per module (group) and for each solar power park;

Energy yield for the day for all the solar power parks together (cumulative);

Total energy yield from Day 1 of the financial year up to the day in question for
each module (group) (cumulative);

Total energy yield from Day 1 of the financial year up to the current day for each
solar power park (cumulative);

Performance ratio per day for each module (group);

Performance ratio per day for each solar power park;

Performance ratio for all the solar power parks together (consolidated).

Digital video surveillance cameras will also be strategically installed to boost the
security of each individual solar module and the entire facility indeed.
Access to the corresponding real-time images will be possible for authorized personnel
both on-site in the site management office as well as off-site anywhere via intelligent
state-of-the-art digital systems.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Temporary Construction Facilities

The construction phase will involve the use of a special mobile crane for positioning the
inverter, transformer and grid connection cabinets. Otherwise, it will, from a technical
perspective, be a very simple straightforward step-by-step assembling assignment.

Staging Areas:
As a standard requirement, 3 to 5 temporary construction staging areas will be
established in and around the pilot solar power park during the construction phase for
use as temporary construction offices and parking. Their exact size will be determined
during the feasibility studies period. They will be used throughout the approximately 3
to 4 month pilot plant project construction period and then decommissioned.
The staging areas will include material laydown and storage areas and an equipment
assembly area.
A few additional acres will be set aside for construction trailers, construction worker
parking and portable toilet facilities that will serve the projects sanitation needs during
construction. Temporary construction fencing will surround this area.

Access to Construction Site:

Graded all-weather roads will be required in selected locations on the proposed solar
power park during construction to bring equipment and materials from the staging areas
to the construction work areas.
These roads will not be decommissioned after construction, but will be designed and
constructed as already explained above to enable them to be used for long-term plant
operation and maintenance.

Water for Construction Purposes:

The Project will use no water for electrical power generation.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

After completion of the construction phase, the only water use will be for domestic
purposes (drinking, washing, toilets) of the power park personnel.
If a solar water pump cannot be built fast enough, water for the construction phase of
the pilot solar plant will be drawn by trucks from nearby wells.
During the approximately 3-month construction period, water will mainly be needed for
such uses as soil compaction, dust control and sanitary needs.
The majority of the construction water use will occur during the site preparation period.
The total estimate for the peak daily water demand (in gallons per day) will be made by
the projects Chief Engineer during the feasibility studies phase.
A temporary water storage facility will be used to store water during construction in
order to meet expected daily demand.
Depending on how fast the solar water pump scenario can function, the water storage
facility may initially have to be connected to the wells with existing or temporary
piping. Water will be transferred directly to trucks from the storage facility as needed
for construction.

Chemicals at Project Site During Construction

Product
Diesel Fuel
Gasoline/ Petrol
Motor Oil
Hydraulic Fluids and Lube Oils
Soil Stabilizers
Bio-degradable Mineral Oil

Use
Vehicles
Vehicles
Vehicles
Vehicles and Equipment
Roads and PV-Module Areas
Transformers

Chemicals at Project Site During Operation

Product
Diesel Fuel
Gasoline/ Petrol
Motor Oil
Bio-degradable Mineral Oil

Use
Vehicles
Vehicles
Vehicles
Transformers

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Construction Phases

As per implementation timetable, the construction of the pilot solar plant will be
completed in three basic phases: pre-construction activities; site preparation and underconstruction; and construction and installation of the solar PV modules and electrical
components.

Pre-Construction Activities:

Clearance Surveys;

Fencing.

Site Preparation and Under-Construction:

Vegetation Treatment, Clearing and Grading;

Compaction;

Under-Construction.

Construction and Installation of Modules and Electrical Components:

Installation of the PV solar modules;

Underground AC and DC cabling;

Installation of electrical equipment;

Construction of access roads;

Connection to the national grid;

Testing for synchronization; and

Testing for commissioning.

The entire construction process in a nutshell:

Basically, the modules, which are built with standard touch-safe connectors, will be
electrically connected once they are all installed in an array. Workers will walk behind each

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

row and plug the wires from each module into a wiring harness that collects all power from
each table.
An electrician will then connect all wiring harnesses to a combiner box, which will in turn link
the connections from the PV modules.
All combiner boxes will be wired via underground DC cables to a common enclosure where
an electrician will connect all the wires to the inverters and other electrical equipment
therein.
Each inverter will thus convert the DC power to the AC power that will be fed into step-up
transformers connected via underground AC cables to the facilitys central switchgear.
The switchgear combines the power output from the various arrays. Power is then
transferred accordingly to the UETCL sub-station.

Construction Hours

Typical construction work schedules are expected to be from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday
through Friday, which complies with the normal working hours in Uganda.
In the event that construction work has to take place outside these typical hours due to
emergency situations, the overall project coordinator will ensure that activities comply with
both national and local regulations for such eventualities.

Operation and Facility Maintenance Needs

The entire project is designed to have essentially no moving parts, no thermal cycle, and, as
already mentioned, no water use for electricity generation. This simple project design will
require only limited maintenance throughout the lifetime of the solar modules.

Fire Protection

There is only limited potential for wildfire on the pilot project site. The pilot solar power
plant is neither located adjacent to nor in a truly urbanized area or wild land. Vegetation is

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

normal and the facility footprint itself would be cleared, so that fire risk from vegetation will
be minimized.
The Project will coordinate with Gomba District Local Government and the responsible SubCounty Chief for Kabulasoke to ensure that appropriate measures are taken to control any
unforeseeable risk of fire.
In any case, project facilities have been designed, and will be constructed and operated, in
accordance with applicable international fire protection and other environmental, health and
safety requirements. This is because the project management team subscribes to the fact
that effective maintenance and monitoring programmes are vital to productivity as well as to
fire protection, environmental protection and worker protection.
Needless to mention, the project will use the feasibility studies phase to develop an adequate
site-specific fire prevention plan for both the construction and operational phase.

De-Commissioning

Should the project site be removed from power generation service at the end of the PPA
period agreed for 20 years with an automatic extension for a further 20 years, project
facilities will be reused, recycled, removed or abandoned as per desired subsequent use and in
compliance with applicable regulations.
Procedures for reuse, recycling, removal or abandonment will be fully outlined in the final Decommissioning Plan.
Where feasible, power plant components will be reused or recycled.
If the site is not planned for industrial, commercial or residential development after project
de-commissioning, the facilities will be removed and the site restored to a condition that
allows it to be utilized for natural habitat and as rural open space.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

IV.

PRE-ENVIRONMENTAL-IMPACT-ASSESSMENT
Whereas a comprehensive site-specific Environmental Impact Assessment will be made
once the project has received the relevant permit from the Electricity Regulatory
Authority (ERA) as per Electricity Act (1999), it can, from the outset, already be stated
that the proposed solar power park will not pose any environmental problems to human
beings, wildlife and the environment. Indeed, the Tentative Layout Plan has been
designed to fulfil internationally accepted regulatory requirements.

Beautiful-fit into the Landscape

As already mentioned, the modules will be constructed to fit beautifully into the existing
environment and the beauty of the surrounding landscape enhanced by a public park
surrounding the entire power plant and designed to produce beautiful flowers
throughout the year. The grassland treatment elaborated earlier in this document will
assist accordingly.

Land Use, Water

This pilot solar power park will by its very nature be a sustainable and energy efficient
development. Surface water run-off will be minimal and will not pose a flood risk.
No solar power park infrastructure (e.g., panel racks, electrical connection lines,
operation and maintenance building, access roads, etc.) are expected to be constructed
near (i.e., within 120m) or across watercourses. Through the implementation of a re
vegetation plan involving native grass seeding of disturbed soils, even the operations
phase of the project will not result in any negative aquatic effects in the project location
or within the surrounding area.

Environment, Wildlife and Vegetation

The proposed pilot solar power plant will be a lowprofile and nonobtrusive facility with
absolutely no negative environmental impact on the site itself as well as on adjacent
land.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

Once constructed, the solar power plant will have no moving parts and no harmful
emissions or any other form of waste product.
The inverters will be placed on concrete pad foundations and the arrays spaced in order
to avoid shading on the modules and a resulting decrease in electrical output. Due to the
spacing between rows, small native vegetation will continue to grow beneath and
between the rows. Wildlife typically at home in and around the current vegetation will
also not be affected.
Indeed, the project will not require the handling, storage or processing of
waste/sewage/biomass, nor will it discharge contaminants to the air.

Noise

A solar power plant is a fixed system without any continuously moving switches,
equipment or fluids during the power generation process.
The only equipment with a theoretical potential to emit noise are the transformers and
inverter stations. However, these are all designed to adhere to sound level limits that
ensure that no significant noise can be heard outside the parameter of the facility.

Traffic

Except for a SITE MANAGER, who will have an office vehicle, and two security personnel
equipped with two motorcycles or mopeds for on-site monitoring within the solar power
park, the facility will have no full-time employees when operational. The facility will,
therefore, not add significantly to the local daily traffic load.
The lifespan of the solar modules being 30 years, only a limited number of deliveries of
replacement material and equipment for supporting functions will be required for
over three decades.
Once a month, one or two vehicles will access the facility with engineers and other staff
for scheduled preventive maintenance activities, including panel cleaning and occasional
grass cutting to avoid the panels being shaded.

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Layout Plan: Pilot Solar Power Park Kabulasoke

V.

TIME SCHEDULE
Once all the equipment have arrived in the country, the project will need a total period
of three months to get the pilot solar power park ready for operation.
This stresses the realistic nature of the underlying ambitious implementation timetable
drawn by the project management team.
The project management team therefore assures all stakeholders that this pilot solar
power park can be commissioned during the last week of August 2013 if ERA issues the
relevant permit in April 2013. Permit issuance in May 2013 would postpone planned
commissioning to the end of September 2013.
The roll-out plan covering the remaining 130MW of clean solar power from the other
proposed solar power park sites can be completed within schedule, with the last one
operational latest by the end of 2014, no matter whether the permit is issued in April
2013, as requested, or later in May 2013.

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