Electric cars and solar cooking: This is how Yujo Izakaya uses solar energy

29th September 2022

Since the commissioning of the 35 kWp solar system for the sustainable business community Yujo Izakaya in Kampala, Uganda, a few weeks ago, a lot has happened: In our new video, Hanif Rehemtulla shares what the solar power is used for and what he has planned for the future. Because one thing is certain: Yujo Izakaya is going to be as sustainable as possible.

Of course, the generated solar power is used to run Hanif Rehemtulla’s restaurant: the induction hob is now powered by the sun. But in order to be able to prepare food, the restaurant needs one thing above all: ingredients. In order to transport these to Yujo Izakaya as sustainably as possible, Hanif now trusts e-mobility and charges his electric car with solar power. In the future, more electric vehicles will be able to refuel using the sun. This probably makes this enPower.life solar system the first solar fuel station in Uganda – but certainly not the last!

Watch our video with Hanif and the solar plant now!

You prefer to read? Here is the transcript of the video:

Hey guys! Today you find us inside Yujo Izakaya and I’m going to tell you a little bit about what we’re going to be using the solar panels for and what about our plans. But first let’s go take a look up there so I can show you in person.

Hey guys! So here we are in front of our 35 kilowatt solar plant and let me tell you a little bit about what we are planning to use this for. So, first of, there are our are lights and our appliances which are electric and have already started pulling out some of this electricity from the solar panels and with our induction cooking plates which use electricity and magnets to directly heat up the pots we can reduce our
reliance on gas from the old tanks that we had installed. So that’s the first one.

The second one is something that we’ve just started doing just before Covid struck in Kampala where vehicles were not allowed to move around, motorcycles are not allowed to move around. We found a supply with electric bicycles and started doing some of our deliveries with one. The next step was to get an electric scooter which was destined for the dumpster and we managed to kind of renovate it with a rebuilt battery and now the newest phase is to be able to charge these two items with solar panels and as of last week we have acquired our first electric vehicle for some of our staff to move around; directors; and this will also be directly charged from the solar up top.

Electric mobility has started the last couple years with motorcycles and with the vehicle it’s pretty much one of the first cases around and we’re really excited about this technology and the launching of charging stations someday in the near future hopefully.

We hope that we can use this to add on to our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint and make our business a bit more responsible. And all the tenants around especially, hopefully they’ll be able to benefit from some of these ideas and start taking advantage over the coming months. So yeah, here we are, that’s what we’re gonna do and that’s what the future has in store. Bye!

Video: Commissioning of the 2. enPower.life solar rooftop plant

September 2022

The time has come: We commissioned the second enPower.life solar system! – a 35 kWp rooftop system for the sustainable business community Yujo Izakaya. From now on, the system reliably supplies green solar power and supplies Yujo Izakaya with renewable energy at low cost. We thank our EPC partner EQUATOR SOLAR for the successful cooperation. Of course we were right there during the commissioning and captured the moment via camera so we can share a video from behind the scenes with you:

Yujo Izakaya is the name of the restaurant in the heart of Kampala run by Hanif Rehemtulla. And in addition to building his restaurant, Hanif has brought together several sustainable businesses that form the Yujo Izakaya business community. All of the companies that belong to Yujo Izakaya are designed for sustainability and are now benefiting from the new solar system. The solar system enables companies to act even more climate-friendly – and to save costs for electricity. Because the enPower.life solar solutions are cheaper for companies than electricity from the grid or diesel generators.

At this point we would also like to thank our impact investors who share our vision of making the world a more sustainable place. With your investment, you all contributed to the fact that we were able to successfully commission this solar system. We look forward to continuing to have you on board as an investor in order to be able to supply even more sustainable companies in Uganda with renewable solar energy.

Solar plant about to be commissioned: installation complete.

07th September 2022

We successfully completed the installation of the 35 kWp solar rooftop system for Yujo Izakaya. Now it is just a matter of final steps and tests before the solar rooftop plant will start operating.

Next time you hear from us, the solar rooftop system for Yujo Izakaya will produce green electricity.

Stay tuned for the coming photos and videos!

PS: Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to see the video from the commissioning of our new solar rooftop plant!

Several sustainable companies will benefit from the solar rooftop system on the roof of Yujo Izakaya. The solar plant is about to be commissioned and Yujo Izakaya will be supplied with green solar power.

35 kWp solar plant for Yujo Izakaya: construction moving forward

10th August 2022

The construction of the 35 kWp solar system for Yujo Izakaya is progressing steadily. The first panels are attached to the mounting structure and the solar system will soon begin to supply clean solar power. Everyone will benefit from this:
Yujo Izakaya can reduce its carbon footprint and contribute to environmental and climate protection. The sustainable business community that consists of multiple sustainable businesses, is thus becoming even greener! The businesses also save on electricity costs because our solar energy solution is cheaper than electricity from the grid or from diesel generators. This improves the economic situation for the companies – there is more money left for other important purchases. And last but not least, our impact investors benefit – because on the one hand they get paid a profitable interest rate, and on the other hand they get to enjoy the feeling of taking a step towards the global sustainable development that our world needs.

• Avoidance of CO2 emissions
• Sustainable businesses become even greener
• Profitability improves: businesses save on electricity costs
• Investors benefit from interest rates
• Investors actively support sustainable development

Green finance – a profitable investment strategy? An interview with the COO of enPower.life

26th July 2022

Our COO Behzad Aghababazadeh just completed the Blended Learning on Green Energy and Climate Finance from renewables academy RENAC. In this brief interview, he shares some of the most surprising insights, and how green energy and climate finance helps impact investors.

1. Behzad, you just completed a course on Green Energy and Climate Finance from renewables academy RENAC. What was this all about?

The course provides a comprehensive overview of financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects from the bank’s perspective. I have always applied such financing methods as an engineer, but this course deepened my existing knowledge and taught me additional skills.

2. What is green finance, and how does it relate to our clients as well as our impact investors?

Green finance is all about redirecting the flow of money from the public, private and not-for-profit sectors to sustainable development priorities. It is a partnership between the three main stakeholders: the government, businesses, and citizens. For citizens, it comes down to their awareness of sustainable options, their willingness to pay for them, and whether they live an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

With enPower.life, we want to offer citizens a way in which they can contribute to sustainable development whilst benefitting themselves. Citizens of developed countries in the EU, and in particular Germany because that is where we are based, have the opportunity to invest in solar energy projects and benefit from profitable interest rates and positively impact society. At the same time, we offer a more environmentally friendly lifestyle for the citizens of emerging markets.

3. Wouldn’t investors make more money from traditional (non-green) investments though?

Often when we speak about green or climate finance many people believe that it is a type of donation, but the interesting point is that whilst we are helping the planet and making society fairer, evidence is mounting that green businesses offer more economically sustainable and higher returns for investors than non-green investments.

4. What is the most surprising thing you learned in your course?

I believe the way that the banks are conducting the project due diligence was a real anchor point in all these topics. You clearly see how they think and evaluate things while as an engineer, you may never have seen such aspects of the project – and even if you have, you don’t know how to manage it. For example, this includes the risk evaluation of the projects and risk mitigation measures that can be applied to minimize the identified risks.

5. Why was this course important to you?

It is always nice that you can participate in a diverse environment of professionals who are practicing same thing in different corners of the world and who share their experiences. It gives you a more holistic approach to the reality of the industry and provides better solutions and new food for thought.

enPower.life solar panels for Yujo Izakaya have arrived!

18th July 2022

We are so excited and humbled to announce that the solar panels, inverters, and mounting structures for the 35 kWp solar plant for sustainable business community Yujo Izakaya have arrived in Kampala!

We will shortly begin the installation of the solar plant in cooperation with our partner EQUATOR SOLAR. Transitioning to solar energy is a big step for Yujo Izakaya and CEO and founder Hanif Rehemtulla is excited to power his restaurant with clean energy soon. We also want to extend a warm THANK YOU to all our supporters and impact investors. Together, we are changing the energy landscape and contributing to a more sustainable world as outlined in the UN sustainable development goals.

Watch the short video with Hanif to see how excited he is!

enPower.life on Fingreen: Everything on sustainable investing!

28 June 2022

We are happy about the new cooperation with Fingreen! Fingreen brings consumers and investors closer to everything about green investments as a basis for sustainable development. enPower.life is now also listed on Fingreen, joining a list of other leading sustainable companies.

If you want to invest sustainably, you can find comprehensive information on Fingreen and learn everything about green stocks, green funds/EFTs, and sustainable investment strategies. Make sure you stop by!

One year at Aquarius Kigo Resort

27th June 2022

We are pleased to celebrate our project’s first year anniversary at Aquarius Kigo Resort. enPower.life commissioned the 28 kWp isolated grid solar plant at Aquarius Kigo Resort on the 26th of June 2021. Within the past 365 days, we have already contributed around 32 MWh of clean, affordable, and reliable solar energy into the resort’s daily consumption which resulted in 16.88 tons of CO2 savings equal to avoiding almost 67,740 km of a passenger car traveling. On this occasion, we also talked in a friendly interview with Mr. Fard Kutesa, the General Operational Manager of the resort, to hear his experience from the time the plant was installed until today. We invite you to watch this interview about their experiences and we remind you not to miss the last 5 minutes if you want to see the resort’s solar power plant and its components.

Enjoy watching!