Open Source Energy Access – Community Showcase with Aaron Tushabe
Written by Thulisile Sibanda
Collaboration and shared learning are at the heart of the Open Source Energy Access community. Our Community Showcase Initiative celebrates individuals who, through practical energy solutions, advance Open Source innovation. This month, we feature Aaron Tushabe, Co-Founder of Nearly Free Energy (NFE) and an active member of the Open Source Energy Access (OSEA) Community managed by EnAccess.
Advancing Energy Access Through Community Collaboration
Aaron’s work focuses on community-owned microgrids that improve energy resilience, reliability, and affordability in Uganda. As a member of the OSEA Community, he has leveraged Open Source tools to design and operate systems that are adaptable, scalable, and replicable across diverse contexts.
“Open collaboration is a better way to build high-quality products that are accessible to the most people.“
– Aaron Tushabe
By participating in OSEA, Aaron gains access to technical guidance, hardware recommendations, and funding leads that strengthen his microgrid projects.
Overcoming Technical and Operational Challenges
Building these microgrids comes with technical and operational challenges. Current architectural frameworks often present a barrier for hardware integration. Aaron highlights one challenge: reverse-engineering integration with a proprietary meter. With guidance from the OSEA community, what initially took a month of work was solved in minutes through shared knowledge.
Operationally, sustaining a mix of part-time and volunteer contributions requires careful coordination. Community support has helped Aaron maintain momentum and progress despite these challenges.
Leveraging Open Source Tools
Through the OSEA Community, Aaron has adopted and contributed to key Open Source tools, strengthening interoperability, vendor neutrality, and long-term scalability across his microgrid deployments:
• OpenEMS, which forms the foundation of his Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI).
• Micropower Manager (MPM), which led him toward Open Source-friendly metering hardware, and now forming a foundation for the Microgrid OS CRM capabilities
• Community connections that provided collaborative opportunities, including exploring grant opportunities with EnAccess.
“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. Building with the community in the open is slower but expands the reach of your ideas and software.”
– Aaron Tushabe
Real-World Impact
One concrete example of the OSEA tools in action is real-time grid monitoring, which, in pilot deployments, helped reduce system over-sizing and informed battery capacity adjustments of up to 15%, improving overall cost efficiency. By tracking outages and analysing performance data, Aaron and his team optimised solar and battery capacity for pilot communities, resulting in improved reliability and cost-effectiveness in their energy use.
Sharing Knowledge and Welcoming Collaboration
Aaron actively shares lessons, guides, and technical insights via the NFE’s Matrix room, wiki, and website. He encourages newcomers to start by using Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), as this naturally leads to contributions and collaboration.
Aaron welcomes new collaborators, contributors, and funders to his project:
• Funders can support via Open Collective or suggest grant opportunities.
• Contributors can connect via the Matrix room or email team@NearlyFreeEnergy.com.
Learn More and Get Involved
In Aaron’s words, “Start using any Free and Open Source Software. Find some proprietary software you already use and can replace with FOSS, or find a problem you can solve today with FOSS. I think using FOSS is the most underrated way to join and contribute to any community. It’s how I joined my first community and how I have remained engaged with so many other communities. PRs and other forms of contributions are, in my view, born out of this first step and are hard to sustain without being a user of the software”.
Conclusion
Aaron’s story highlights how building in the open through the OSEA community enables practical, scalable energy solutions while fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, and global impact. More broadly, it demonstrates how community-owned, data-driven microgrids can serve as a replicable model for scalable energy access, combining open-source software, local ownership, and collaborative innovation to build resilient energy systems for the future.