Solar support project

Team proudly showing new solar panels on the roof of the laboratory

Before the war Panguma Hospital was supplied with power from a hydro electricity station nearby, unluckily this was all destroyed during the war and there are no plans or means for recovery in the near future.

There is no electricity grid in this region of the country, and the hospital relies on power supply from a diesel generator that is available only a few hours per day. With the rising prizes of diesel the and the maintenance of the generator the power supply can be really unreliable.

Alternatives of supporting power supply are highly recommended, especially in a hospital where it can be live saving to have light or run vital equipment.

Spring Associates is active in supporting sustainable energy projects in the developing world. In February 2009 Spring has lead the installation of a 1.2 kilowatt photovoltaic solar system for the Panguma Hospital in Sierra Leone with the local staff, making it possible for this remote hospital to have light for emergency activities at night, and store blood in a special fridge, continuously powered by solar energy.

Planning and working together with minimal recources and maximal temperatures!

The Project encompassed the installation of a stand-alone solar system, connected to lighting fixtures and a blood bank fridge in the hospital’s laboratory, and lighting and an oxygen concentrator in the children’s ward of the hospital. For the light energy saving LED light bulbs were used, supplied by Lumotech and LedzWorld, in order to minimize the use of electricity and maximize the amount of light powered by the solar panels.

Sierra Leone is situated only 7 degrees north of the equator and receives an enormous amount of sunlight. Being completely reliable on import of fuels for power generation, the case for solar energy is very favourable in this country. Largely due to the long lasting civil war in the last decade, Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world and electricity from renewable sources like solar that need a large upfront investment is not considered very often.

Planning and working together with minimal recources and maximal temperatures!

However, the country is recovering fast,  and with projects like these Spring Associates aims to increase the awareness of renewable energy and its benefits, and to assure that solar energy will play a role in the development of Sierra Leone.

Panguma Hospital wants to thank everybody who contributed to the solar project. And as this was just a start to bring light to Panguma we hope to realize more solar projects in the future!

The fridge to store blood and other vital medication.

Light in the laboratory!