SUNNYSIDE I UP
Lighting the way for Senegal’s students
IBC SOLAR has equipped three schools in Senegal with 500 portable solar lamps, as well as vouchers to charge the lamps. Students will receive charging vouchers for special merits in school. The project that was realized together with KA∫ TO Projekt, a German based specialist for sustainable investments in Africa.
One of the main challenges in the region of Casamance in southern Senegal is the lack of energy supply. Only one in three of the 12 million
inhabitants of Senegal are connected to the grid. In rural areas it’s only one fifth of has access to the public power supply. Inhabitants usually use diesel engines to generate the power which is a burden for the environment and the population. In order to improve the electric power supply, IBC SOLAR and KA∫ TO have supplied the area with solar lamps and have handed out charging vouchers to schools. Only two lamps are needed to illuminate a standard household in Casamance, as most of the family life takes place in one large room.
The solar lamps project is the second phase of the joint project of IBC SOLAR and KA∫ TO. In 2009 the two companies installed solar kiosks in rural areas in Senegal which are equipped with solar modules which generate solar energy. These kiosks are run by a villager who charges mobile phones, electronic devices or lamps for a small fee. So far, three solar kiosks have been installed and more are to follow soon.
To increase the usage of renewable energy supply, teachers hand out vouchers every week to pupils as a reward for their achievements in school or for voluntary social services. With these vouchers pupils can charge their lamps free of charge at one of the solar kiosks. One battery load lights the lamp for about seven hours. For the duration of this school year, three schools with 250 pupils each can hand out a total of 15.000 vouchers and thus make attending school more attractive. In order to have a control
over the allocation of the vouchers, teachers are asked to explain briefly the merits that they reward. Vouchers have to be earned ensuring that the new technologies are being valued.
“We encountered several challenges in the course of the project”, explained Heidi Schiller, General Manager of KATO Projekt. “First we had to convince the villagers of the merit principle of the project as well as the benefits.”
Udo Moehrstedt, Founder and CEO of IBC SOLAR added: “Today about 2.5 billion people globally live without electricity. However, electricity is the fundamental basis for the economic growth of a country. The solar lamps project in Senegal is a prime example of decentralized power supply. Photovoltaic is the ideal power supply, as the solar energy is abounding in this area. The systems are low in maintenance and can supply even the most remote area with electricity.”
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www.solar-pv-management.com I Issue VIII 2011
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