GRS Commodities pilots, builds and runs off-grid renewable energy in rural Uganda. Since 2009 we have turned flower-farm waste, water hyacinth, rice husks and sunlight into electricity for island communities and the businesses that feed them.
GRS Commodities Ltd was founded in May 2009 as a spin-off from Wageningen University and Research Centre in the Netherlands.
Co-founder Andrew Ssentongo studied commercial bio-energy value chains for his MSc in European Food & Agribusiness at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, and Wageningen. He came home with a simple aim: make clean power pay its way in places that national infrastructure does not serve.
We work where the grid stops, on the Ssese Islands of Kalangala District and in rural farming areas, and we design projects around what each place already has. That might be crop residue, lake weed or a lot of sun. Every project is built to cut diesel use and carbon emissions while giving people reliable electricity they can afford.
To promote access to renewable energy for off-grid use in rural areas of Uganda without electricity infrastructure.
Our mission, unchanged since 2009Projects, 2009 to 2016
Each project built on the last, moving from waste-to-energy studies to solar mini-grids with prepaid metering.
Bars are drawn to scale by calendar year. Select a project to read more.
2009 – 2010 Biomass
An assessment of converting floriculture waste into energy on nine commercial flower farms: Rosebud, MS Wagagai, Fiduga, Mellisa Flowers, Ugarose, Royal van Zanten, Exclusive Cuttings, Aurum Roses and Mairye Estates. The study mapped how much biomass each farm produces and what it could generate.
2011 – 2013 Biogas
12kW
A biogas system in Kalangala District that turned water hyacinth, an invasive weed collected from the Lake Victoria shoreline, and manure from local livestock farmers into gas for electricity. The power ran agro-processing plants.
2013 – 2014 Gasification
Gasification heats dry organic matter with controlled air to make syngas, a fuel that runs a generator. Here, rice husks and maize cobs collected from local farmers were the feedstock.
The plant sat in Buligo village on the Ssese Islands, which have no connection to mainland power. Its electricity ran a grain mill where farmers process their harvest into higher-value product.
2015 – 2016 Solar PV
8kW
A pilot solar PV mini-grid serving households and small businesses in Kitobo village. Residents moved off expensive, unreliable diesel generation onto stable prepaid solar power available 24 hours a day.
2016 Solar PV
+25kW
Backed by the United States African Development Foundation under the Power Africa initiative, this project adds 25 kW of solar PV mini-grid capacity to supply prepaid metered electricity to around 100 households in a remote Ssese Islands village.
From one 8 kW pilot to a 25 kW expansion: the prepaid mini-grid model proven on Kitobo is now being repeated across the islands.
Solar capacity, 2015 to 2016Developers, investors and equipment makers bring us in to deliver off-grid projects on the ground. We cover every stage, in the order a project needs it.
Engaging leaders, households and businesses in proposed project areas so demand is real before anything is built.
Before the build
Testing commercial off-grid energy concepts at small scale, measuring what works before capital is committed.
Before the build
Managing the paperwork and clearance for renewable energy equipment and complete plants entering Uganda.
Procurement
Moving equipment from port to site, including to island locations on Lake Victoria with no road access.
Procurement
Assembling and supervising local installation teams, which builds skills that stay in the community.
Construction
Prepaid meter connections and last-mile service, so a mini-grid keeps performing after handover.
Operation
The SEED Initiative, founded by the UN Environment Programme with UNDP and IUCN, recognises outstanding start-ups that combine environmental protection, entrepreneurial innovation and social development. GRS Commodities was selected for its off-grid renewable energy work in rural Uganda.
View the SEED award profile
Andrew Ssentongo receives the award at the 2013 SEED ceremony.
Run by GIZ in Kampala to widen access to modern, sustainable energy in Uganda. GIZ works with GRS on improving licensing procedures for small off-grid projects, part of making conditions better for private investment in renewables.
Hosted by Makerere University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with Norges Vel. It supports local companies that use renewable energy in ways that are sustainable and financially sound.
Team Leader and Director
An internationally trained project developer specialising in renewable energy resource management, process engineering, feasibility appraisal and value-chain analysis for small and medium plants. Andrew co-founded GRS and has led every project since. He is known for building partnerships across cultures and mobilising teams and communities around new technology.
Admin and Finance Director
With GRS since 2009, Robinah brings over 15 years of management experience. As Assistant Executive Director of the Uganda Flower Exporters' Association she coordinated 11 commercial flower farms, covering training in Kenya and the Netherlands, quality audits, airfreight logistics and advocacy. She leads finance, human resources and audit compliance.
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