1 / 15

SIERRA LEONE’S FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY FORUM FOCUS ON SOLAR ENERGY 15 TH APRIL 2010

SIERRA LEONE’S FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY FORUM FOCUS ON SOLAR ENERGY 15 TH APRIL 2010. PREPARED BY: DAVID GARNETT - EFA-RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAMME [REP]. EFA: Introduction.

eris
Download Presentation

SIERRA LEONE’S FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY FORUM FOCUS ON SOLAR ENERGY 15 TH APRIL 2010

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. SIERRA LEONE’S FIRST RENEWABLE ENERGY FORUM FOCUS ON SOLAR ENERGY 15TH APRIL 2010 PREPARED BY: DAVID GARNETT - EFA-RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAMME [REP]

  2. EFA: Introduction The Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA) aims to protect and restore the environment in West Africa. For over 15 years, EFA has led: • Environmental Education (EE) and awareness raising campaigns • Restored degraded lands and conserved pristine forests • minimized the impacts of civil war on the environment and its inhabitants • equipped thousands of people with sustainable livelihood skills such as agro-forestry Today, capitalizing on its wealth of experience, EFA specializes in environmental awareness raising and capacity building at the national, regional and international levels using high impact communications tools and training programs to build an environmentally conscious society motivated to maintain the integrity of nature in Africa.

  3. EFA: Renewable Energy Programme (REP) • The environment is no longer just an area for project implementation but a cross-cutting issue in all project designs and more importantly an operational philosophy. Integrating environmental concerns into the daily operations of our organization is necessary to lead the changes required to combat global environmental challenges. Energy management and the use of energy resources are both critical to the environmental problems we face today. • The Renewable Energy Programme strives to promote sound management of everyday energy needs through educational training along with installations of renewable energy systems, i.e., PV, energy efficiency, solar water-heating and water-pumping, etc.

  4. REP: Background The Environmental Foundation for Africa (EFA) began work in solar powered electricity or photovoltaics (PV) in 2006, with a project installing PV systems within schools and clinics for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees - Liberia; followed by installations on Tiwai Island for the visitor and research centres; then the EFA office headquarters in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This work allowed us to develop the necessary internal capacity to develop an ongoing Renewable Energy Programme [REP].

  5. REP: Solar Photovoltaics (PV) Past: Streetlight in Kambama (0.5kWp) On-going: UNICEF Learning Along Borders for Living Across Boundaries (LAB4LAB) School Project in Liberia (4.8kWp)

  6. REP: Solar Energy Training & Capacity Building • In 2009, EFA began a partnership with the Government Technical Institute in Kissy (Freetown), where members of the REP team are currently training students along with staff members in various applications of solar energy. Courses at GTI • Solar PV • Solar Water-Heating (Thermal) • Architectural Planning for Renewable Energy

  7. REP: Solar Energy Training & Capacity Building ......can produce well-trained & reliable technicians, helping our sustainable growth & future development. Working & training with community members......

  8. REP: Solar Water-Heating Solar water-heating systems have been constructed by EFA staff as part of the solar thermal course, held in conjunction with GTI. Some of these systems will be fitted in health clinics, providing constant hot water for the maternity units. Although the requirement for hot water is not so great in Africa, this is a tried and tested technology, which if used to replace the existing electrical domestic hot water heaters in Freetown, would greatly reduce the demand on the limited electricity supply, as it is particularly water-heating that consumes a majority of the nation’s electricity supply.

  9. REP: Solar Water-Pumping Solar water-pumping is one of the most energy efficient and effective applications of PV technology. Solar panels will continuously power water pumps throughout the day, from a water source. This water can be retained in storage tanks to ensure a supply at night.

  10. REP: Solar Water-Pumping (success story....) Masanga Hospital is the only place in its district, where accessible and affordable medical care is available. Currently, the hospital has an outpatient department, a pediatric ward, a therapeutic feeding centre, an under-five clinic, a laboratory, a pharmacy and elective surgery an operating theatre and a treatment facility for leprosy and tuberculosis patients. Previously, the Masanga staff used headlamps and kerosene lamps to see at night. Before the installation of the water supply system, all the water needed was brought to the hospital with buckets. A submersible solar pump is now attached to the manual hand-pump (photo above, left) which is still accessible for individual use. Bed sheets have always been washed in cold water but a solar water-heating system will be installed for the laundry house soon. Thanks to the REP team, the hospital now benefits from an emergency back-up AC (alternating current) electricity supply for the hospital’s operating theatre, with constant autonomous supply for vaccine fridge’s. A solar water-pumping system for the hospital’s well, providing water supply to certain parts of the hospital, is now installed. The hospital will soon have the water supply system extended to all other areas of the hospital campus. This is the first time they’ve had a running water supply in 20 years.

  11. An NGO’s Role in Promoting Solar Technology • Awareness raising • Education and training • Implementation/practical application through installation of solar technology • Synergizing the social, economical and environmental perspectives • Sustenance and stability of growth and development from the grassroots stage • Finding funding

  12. The Challenges • Affordability: poor economy • Networking Infrastructure: roads, water supply (and waste), national grid connection and availability • Lack of Education & Awareness: to enable serious advances with national energy efficiency and availability • High Costs: import duty, air-freight/shipping and taxes (e.g. GST) • Finding more funding ($ € ¥ & £)

  13. Next Steps.... • Introducing and installing more solar technology in the most remote areas • Encouraging and importing more affordable renewable technologies particularly for the rural populations , enabling micro-financing structures to be setup and initially monitored by EFA • More training and capacity building in other renewable technologies (e.g. Micro-hydro, Tidal) • Finding more $ € ¥ & £

  14. Final Thoughts • Energy is neither created or dissipated. In our interactions with energy, we simply change it from one form to the other • Although a light-bulb cannot eradicate poverty it provides a safer and more productive home environment, particularly for the rural populations left in the dark • A light-bulb in a rural dwelling will promote education, which is the first step toward greatness.

  15. THANK YOU ALLWWW.EFASL.ORG.UK

More Related