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Training

Solar PV

(I) T1/T2/T3

Kenya’s Solar PV regulations provide for 3 levels of licensing for Solar PV technicians:

  • Class T1 license – solar PV system installation work for small systems or single battery DC system of up to 100Wp.
  • Class T2 license – solar PV system installation work for medium systems or multiple batteries which may include an inverter up to 300Wp.
  • Class T3 license – solar PV system installation work for advanced systems, including grid connected and hybrid systems

WISEe collaborates with accredited training institutions to deliver technical training to eligible candidates, to increase local female technical capacity to design, install and maintain solar PV energy systems.  These trainings aim to create a pool of qualified female technicians providing quality and professional solar PV products and services. Classroom training is reinforced by hands-on training sessions, mentoring and site visits in order to ensure that trainees receive good all-round knowledge and experience.

So far, WISEe has carried out 6 T1/T2 and one T3 Trainings’  in collaboration with partners like Strathmore Energy Research Centre benefiting 99 students in total.

Once trained, trainees are able to gain field experience during site installations under the watchful eyes of experienced WISEe installers. This prepares trainees for the written and oral exams that make them eligible for the solar technician license issued by Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority EPRA

Below are some remarks from some WISEe trainees:

The trainers have excellent know-how. I particularly like that they share their real site experiences’- Ndanu Mwatu

‘I feel that I have understood T3 and what is expected of me as I plan on undertaking the licensing exams’! – Sarah Kwach 

‘The training has met my personal expectations. I have learnt many new techniques that I will use when working on my future installations – Daphin

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(ii) U1/U2/U3/U4

In collaboration with its partner Remote Energy, WISEe carries out women only and co-ed training in solar PV online via the Moodle platform (https://www.remoteenergy.org/online-training and Zoom sessions for trainees in Africa, Native America and Southern India. The training is a 4 week self paced course with weekly Zoom sessions. After the online lines, the women are taken through a 2-day hands-on workshop, which gives them hands-on skills.

A group of students learns how to connect a water pump to a solar panel during a Solar PV DC System Fundamentals and Power Production lab course at Storage Central in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday, March 10th, 2023. 

Remote Energy mentors aspiring Solar Energy technicians and motivated instructors living and working in remote and under-represented communities worldwide. 

The Women’s Small Solar DC Lab Course is a women's program launched in Nairobi to teach women about solar energy and how to build and maintain solar equipment with the goal of getting them employment. It is a co-branded Remote Energy / WISEe two-day practical class with hands-on lab work that follows our online program.

Photo: Far on Foot / Luis Tato

(iii) TU1/TU2 ASPIRE

This is a Training of Trainers (ToT) course offered in partnership with Remote Energy to women in clean energy organisations. The training is meant to equip the women with the skills required for them to start offering the Solar PV trainings’ to women, youths and other participants in their countries.