Case Study: New Sun Road achieves 24/7 clean, reliable solar power in Uganda with Digi International

New Sun Road Connects Uganda to Clean and Reliable Energy with Digi Cellular Routers

New Sun Road, a California benefit corporation focused on solving energy poverty, partnered with Ugandan startup GRS Commodities to deliver affordable solar power to Kitobo Island in the Ssese Islands. The team faced the twin challenges of deploying and remotely managing microgrids in areas without local ISPs and ensuring communications equipment could operate in extreme heat inside NEMA enclosures.

They deployed Digi TransPort WR11 XT cellular routers with Digi Remote Manager and a custom analytics/control app to connect, monitor and manage the solar grids over 3G. The pilot now provides 24/7 metered solar electricity to 34 customers, cutting energy costs by about 50%, generating enough revenue to cover maintenance and capital, building local technician capacity, and paving the way to expand service across the Ssese Islands.

New Sun Road

Austin Cappon

Operations Manager