Create A Solar Powered Energy Revolution Across West Africa
Summary
Grid electrical networks are set to become the exception rather than the rule, as the world's population increasingly demands ingenuity and multiplicity in terms of its electrical supply. This change has been further amplified with the growing recognition of climate change and the need for renewable energy solutions that have a lesser impact on the global environmental commons. The challenge of supplying electricity in Africa, the continent most bereft of modern forms of energy, strongly reflects both the need for and the process of this change. Now, with the increasing availability and affordability of small-scale renewable energy there is an opportunity for a revolutionization of power supply across Africa. The recent creation of Energy For Opportunity (EFO), an organization dedicated to spreading renewable energy in West Africa, is step to help start this energy revolution, with the strategic implementation of small-scale solar projects. Starting in Benin, Mali and Sierra Leone, EFO will coordinate projects focusing on the key areas of health, education, livelihoods and skills training, bringing greater opportunities to communities, households and individuals.
Needs Assessment
The need for alternative forms of energy supply in West Africa is clearly evident. The region has recently endured a number of civil conflicts, with many countries have also suffered from histories of misrule. While the situation in the region has dramatically improved in the past few years, the scars of this history are nevertheless still very much evident and can be acutely witnessed in terms of region's infrastructure. There are many urban centres in the region, including capital cities, which lack reliable sources of electrical supply, while power grids only ever reach a very small minority of rural communities. This has hindered opportunities for development in the region, with United Nations' Human Development Report rating that that eleven out of the twenty least-developed countries in world are located in the West Africa.
The need for a solar energy revolution across EFO's current three target countries is clearly apparent. Sierra Leone is currently ranked by the United Nations as being the least-developed country in the world. It has the world's highest infant mortality rate, and an average life expectancy of only 41 years. Adult literacy is very low and currently less than two percent of the rural populace has access to modern forms of electrical supply. Youth unemployment is also high, and the need for the creation of alternative livelihoods is desperately needed; this is particularly pertinent when one considers that youth disillusionment was a key factor in driving Sierra Leone's recent ten year civil war (1991-2001). In Mali the adult literacy rate stands at 23%, the lowest in the world, while electricity only reaches 2% of the rural population. Life expectancy is extremely low and infant mortality is current at 196 deaths per 1,000 births (in Singapore the figure stands at 2 deaths per 1,000 births). The reality being that most people die from easily preventable diseases due to lack of health care facilities. In Benin, like Sierra Leone and Mali, the adult literacy rate is low, while life expectancy is only 56 years. There only 4 doctors per 100,000 people, a dramatically low figure particularly when compared to Iceland were there are 362 doctors per 100,000 people. Half of the urban population does not have access to electricity, while in rural areas grid networks only reach 6% of the population. EFO's targeting of the key areas of Education, Health, Livelihoods and Skills Training, is designed to target all of the above areas; to improve in-country conditions and to offer more opportunities in the three countries.
Required Resources
The main resources required are capital for solar power installation equipment and human input. Prize money from African Rural Connect can help provide the former. The idea behind EFO is not just to have an organization active for short project cycles, but rather to establish a long-term presence in its target countries, gradually spreading its work to other countries in the West African region. To fund EFO's work a diverse funding strategy is being adopted. As a non-profit organization EFO will seek funds from traditional sources (individual and corporate donations, bilateral and multilateral donors, foundations etc.) as well as less traditional. One area is for-profit work in urban centers in the target countries, with all of this for-profit work contributing towards EFO's goal of making a solar revolution; i.e. the profits from this work will be directed to projects in rural areas. There is a ready market for solar installation in urban centers across Africa, with many businesses and households having to rely on intermittent grid supplies and/or individual generators which are costly and environmental hazardous. Members of EFO have already been active in installing solar power systems in the offices of international organizations and business in the target countries and using the profits to finance projects in rural areas. To create a solar-power revolution across West Africa, solar use needs to be mainstreamed in both rural and urban areas; EFO's strategy is to create a mutually beneficial program where profits from urban solar installations, help facilitate the expansion in to rural areas. This not only helps to facilitate the spread of solar, but also enhances the economic sustainability of EFO.
Plan and Execution
The Energy For Opportunity team already has vast experience with Solar installation projects in the West Africa Region. The project will be implemented with local partner organizations in the three target countries. Each of these three partners has over 15 years of experience implementing development projects with a wide range of international bodies. The local partners will provide local infrastructure (office space, vehicles) and local logistical support, while EFO will provide skills expertise and broader logistical support. Such partnerships are designed to minimize the operating overheads of EFO (office rent, vehicles, expatriate staff salaries etc.) and allowing more funds to be directed towards necessary projects. During the partnerships there will be an emphasis on increasing local technical capacity. This strategy is derived from EFO's belief that any international organization working in a development setting should be striving to make their services redundant; the involvement of local partners is one key step in this process. The projects with local partners will be focused in four key areas:
1. Education: Power Systems for Secondary Schools
This will involve the installation of solar powered computer labs in rural secondary schools across the three target countries. These labs will have access to the internet, through mobile telecommunication provided by companies that have already invested in the necessary in-country infrastructure. This will offer students a greater incentive to stay in school and a greater variety of learning resources.
2. Health: Electricity for Rural Health Clinics
This will involve the installation of solar power in rural health clinics across the three target countries. Each health clinic will be provide with a vaccine fridge, lighting and power for basic medical equipment allowing for enhanced medical treatment of rural populations.
3. Development and Livelihoods: Community Charging Stations
This will involve the installation of solar power in rural community centers in the three target countries. These communities will then be able to offer a service to community for the recharging of basic electrical items (i.e. lanterns, radios etc...), while also being able to generate funds for community projects.
4. Skills Training: University Based Solar Electricity Courses
This will involve the creating of solar training courses in universities across the three target countries. This will ensure the fundamental skills of solar installation are properly invested in the three countries. The students in these courses will also be able to be involved in the above three program area installations, to ensure that they have hands on experience.
Real World Impact
This project adopts a multi-faceted approach to promoting social-economic opportunities within the target countries. From a broad perspective, modern forms of energy are important precursor to ensure that local businesses can prosper and economies are able to develop, while each program area works to help facilitate different needs for a more prosperous environment. The Skills Training facilitates the growth of expertise locally, paving the way for future in-country solar entrepreneurship. Community charging stations in rural areas will help to diversify livelihood opportunities, while the charging stations themselves will provide funds for the communities. The focus on schools is in recognition that a proper education is a strong foundation for creating economic and social opportunities in the target countries. Furthermore the provision of internet in these schools will not only offer the students a wealth of new educational materials, but will also provide links to the wider world for the facilitating potential opportunities at an international level. Finally the focus on health is in recognition that a productive populace needs to be a healthy populace, which has been demonstrated in numerous studies (cf. WHO). Providing necessary infrastructure for health can reduce financial burdens, while increasing individual productivity time. The general focus of all of the above is not to impose paternalistic social and economic solutions in the target countries, but rather to help foster conditions so that prosperity can be realized; to provide the necessary conditions for greater opportunities.
Local solar energy installations are not an 'alternative' source of energy for communities, but rather are the next source. We at EFO have witnessed through previous projects we have been involved in the impact that small-scale solar installations can have across the region. Solar in health clinics can provide power for vaccine fridges and medical equipment, improving health care delivery to rural areas. Solar in schools can provide improved learning facilities through computers, as well as lighting for night-time adult literacy classes. Solar in community centers can reduce financial burdens and the hazards of using other forms of energy, such as kerosene and disposable batteries. While creating solar courses in universities can provide greater opportunities for the youth, creating a foundation for the future use of solar power across the region. We at EFO believe we can help start a solar power revolution across the West African region; improving the livelihoods of communities, households and individuals.
Contact
Paul Munro,
Research and Development Officer,
Energy For Opportunity (EFO)
paul@energyforopportunity.org
www.energyforopportunity.org
Abena Asare said 7 months ago
This is a great idea and a strong business plan.
Your clever approach to financial sustainability-- seeking multiple funding sources including linking for-profit and non-profit work within the same organization--is quite creative; and I appreciate your stated interest in making EFO redundant by increasing the technical capacity of the identified local partner organizations.
In the four key areas of work, how do you conceive of the timing? Would these initiatives occur concurrently or be rolled out in phases? Similarly, working with local organizations is an important part of this proposal. Do the three local organizations already have the capacity to provide office space and vehicles and such?
EFO said 7 months ago
Hi Abena,
Thanks for the feedback and support.
In answer to your questions:
1) Our Partner Organisations all are strong actors in the environmental movement in West Africa and have existing projects with solar. EFO's director, Simon Willans, has worked with all three partners in the past, so we are already aware that they have all the necessary logistics and personal to do this type of work. This was the basis for approaching them to be partners (ie they were screened fully)
2) The Programme concepts have all been developed and tested. The Actual implementation will be driven by the local partner and their programme objectives and then subsequent funding strategies will be driven by this. The Skill Trainings programme is already happening in Sierra Leone and be an ongoing programme.
All the best,
Paul
annamcampbell said 6 months ago
Great Idea! One concern that I think should be addressed early on is that of security. Where I lived in Burkina, Solar Panels were one of the easiest to steal and most valuable items in many small villages. Burkina has a low crime rate, but solar panels were often stolen and many villages sported lamp-posts from which the solar panels had been removed. The story I heard was that they were smuggled into neighboring countries where there was more of a market in the private sector.
It is a matter of public safety as well as of economics. At my school our guard, who was unarmed, was shot at by thieves who stole half of our solar panels one night and took them by motorcycle. It upset us all that a well meaning program that made it possible for our students, who had no electricity at home, to study by electric lights after dark, could have been indirectly responsible.
Ayakope1 said 6 months ago
I do think this is a good project and not sure how I would improve it but also have a few concerns. We also experienced the theft mentioned by Anna on solar pumps. I am still sitting on about $5000.00 worth of solar panels in Togo so I can speak from some experience. My major concern is your opening line that grid networks are set to become the exception. It raises flags for me when we do things in Africa unlike they are done elsewhere. Africa's role models should be China and India not the USA. Everyone in this group should make themselves aware of what Dambisa Moyo says in her book "Dead Aid" or at least listen to some of her interviews easily googled on the web. I do not agree with all she says but I do believe that the best aid for Africa should be given if at all to infrastructure, energy & transport, education & health, and to creating a business friendly and less costly environment for business. Kiva is wonderful at giving small aid in the form of loans. A true business model. Big aid organizations in my mind should join together to create large energy systems, water supplies, transport, and infrastructure projects. I certainly believe solar has a place but feel it is very limited. They are expensive items to place in very poor areas. I would ask who is paying for these items. Is it purely aid? What is the shelf life of the panels before they need to be replaced? Who will pay to replace them? Who owns them? Once again I do not want to be too negative and think the project is good and really like that there has been a fairly extensive past history. Are all those systems still operational?
EFO said 6 months ago
Hi Anna
Thank you for your comment. We are really sorry to hear about your security guard getting shot. We do take a number of precautions to minimize the chance of thefts. Though in reality if thieves show up to a village on motorbikes with guns, there is little that can be done at that moment, and we’d recommend that no one intervene. If such a hopefully rare situation were to occur, we would work with local authorities after the incident, to try to apprehend the thieves. In our experience (in Liberia and Sierra Leone) a lot of these stolen modules come from more local and often opportunistic thieves, to help to stop this occurring we take a number of precautions:
- All other solar items (other than the modules) are always securely locked away (batteries, controllers, invertors etc..)
- We have the modules very securely bolted to the roof (we have seen some installation where modules are only held down by a couple of easily removed bolts) making their removal very complicated. lockable mounting structures can also be used.
- Through the provision of the solar, we are able to supply night-time security lights: helping to expose any would-be thieves.
- We involve the community members in the installation process, thus offering them more ownership of the system and greater stake in keeping it secure.
- We work with local authorities (governments, chiefs, village heads), to help ensure the maintenance and protection of the systems.
- The community generally have security guard employed for guarding the buildings.
- If it is believed necessary we can design modules that can be brought inside and locked up at night.
Of course if you or anyone else has any more suggests, we would be happy to hear them.
EFO said 6 months ago
Hi Ron,
Thanks for the comment and information. I will try and go through your concerns one by one, although I do confess I do not have all the answers.
“My major concern is your opening line that grid networks are set to become the exception. It raises flags for me when we do things in Africa unlike they are done elsewhere. Africa's role models should be China and India not the USA.”
The opening line stems from recognizing the increasing problems that occurring with grid networks in Africa. For example, Kampala (Uganda) and Dakar (Senegal) are considered two of the most “developed” cities in Africa and once boasted constant electrical supplies. Now both cities suffer from regular long-term power cuts. It is a similar story across the rest of Africa. The reality being that Africa is the fastest urbanizing continent and governments have not been able to keep up with basic infrastructural needs. Africa Governments along with major Aid Donors continue to try to address the above, yet the focus is almost entirely on the problem of urban electrical supply. If they are struggling with urban electrical supply, when can we expect grid-electrical infrastructure to properly reach rural populations: 30, 100, 500 years? In reality there is little impetus to expand grid-networks to rural populations, we see stand-alone solar systems in rural areas as one possible (albeit not perfect) remedy to this.
I agree with you that Africa should look to China and India for developmental lessons. Interesting is that both these countries are major manufacturers of solar modules and both have major solar power programs. China has been described as a “solar front-runner” and India has recently unveiled a massive national solar plan. The Indian plan is worth US$19 billion, and under it solar-powered equipment and applications would be mandatory in all government buildings including hospitals and hotels (see References Below). Both these countries have rural electrification problems, and are looking towards solar as a possible solution.
Emma Hughes (2009) “India’s National Solar Plan Under Debate” PvTech, 28 July http://www.pv-tech.org/news/_a/indias_national_solar_plan_under_debate/
Reuters (2009) India to unveil 20GW solar target under climate plan, July 28 http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSDEL104230
EFO said 6 months ago
RON: “the best aid for Africa should be given if at all to infrastructure, energy & transport, education & health, and to creating a business friendly and less costly environment for business.”
We agree completely. We subtly called ourselves Energy For ‘Opportunity’, not Energy For ‘Development’ as we wanted to move away from the paternalistic connotations associated with development. We therefore look to provide infrastructure in terms of energy supply in areas of health, education and communities, as well as offering necessary skills training, therefore helping to increase the potential space for opportunities to occur.
EFO said 6 months ago
RON: “I certainly believe solar has a place but feel it is very limited. They are expensive items to place in very poor areas. I would ask who is paying for these items. Is it purely aid?”
You are right, solar is expensive, but it is getting increasing cheaper for two reasons:
1) Module production and efficiency is increasing and the price has drop reasonably over the past 15 years. This trend is likely to continue.
2) Electrical items are getting increasingly equipment (A 2watt LED can produce as much light as a 60 watt incandescent). For under US$100 a basic module/LED lighting system can now be made for houses now.
We mention EFO’s funding strategy in the above idea, which includes a mixture of aid, and a mixture of for-profit work in urban areas and where appropriate end-user payments. The more we can move away from aid the better. In most countries telecommunication and electrical infrastructure for rural areas is subsidized by profits from urban infrastructure, so there is nothing overly new about our idea, except for the context in which it is being applied. Also as we grow we would also like to explore other small-scale electrification options that have been used successfully elsewhere in the world (i.e. bio-diesel, micro-hydro, wind power).
It is important to also note that installing grid-electrical supplies to rural areas are also very expensive, require considerable maintenance costs and have considerable ongoing costs in terms of supply. In most cases solar power is a much more cost-effective approach. Furthermore grid-electrical systems are also susceptible to theft;the thieving of wire from the grid network is quite common practice in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
RON: “What is the shelf life of the panels before they need to be replaced? Who will pay to replace them? Who owns them?”
The shelf life for modules is generally 25 years. The weakest part of the system is actually the batteries, which have a shelf life of about 10-15 years (less if they are used incorrectly). It is weakness that we are aware of and trying to find different ways address. Another thing to address is the safe disposable of these batteries after their shelf-life.
In terms of ownership the systems will be owned by the sites. With schools and health clinic this generally means they will fall under the jurisdiction of education and health ministries respectively. We try to work close with these government bodies during our installations. The idea being that they can develop budget lines for equipment replacement down the track. Often, in health clinics, we are replacing generators, which already represent a considerable financial burden in terms of fuel and maintenance. The cost of replacing the solar equipment over time being a much minor financial burden and the maintenance cost of solar in between these times is negligible. In communities, the solar installations are designed to raise funds, (via a fee for recharging electrical items), a budget line can be diverted for maintenance and the necessary replacing or even upgrades for the system.
None of the above are perfect and it is an area that we need to monitor and experiment with. Invariably we can’t plan everything perfectly before we start and no doubt we will have a number of trial and error situations. That is why we plan on working long-term in each target country with well established local partners, so we can monitor our systems, collecting data (both technical system data and social impact data), hopefully improving our work and systems over time.
Ayakope1 said 6 months ago
Thanks for the very detailed and thoughtful answers, Paul. I do support you 100%. But, I also support Ms. Moyo and her thoughts. I agree with her in many ways on aid to Africa and I see the same problem here in the USA. Aid often as not creates dependence and opens the door for many kinds of corruption. We need better models and I believe you are on the way to creating some. I hope that is the focus of all discussions on this site.
poestencreasey said 6 months ago
EFO: Surely the solar reflector technology is the best solution? Glass, steal, and a steam turbine. It's Victorian technology.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Functional_sketch_Fresnel_power_genera...
I heard a German scientist talking about this on bbc radio 4, he calculated that by using the solar reflector technology, north Africa could potentially power Europe. Just gotta make sure multi nationals don't start buying up the deserts! The phrase "yellow gold" will be coined, if not already. This will happen, it's just a matter of who benefits. The lessons of history show it will be hard to keep this resource in the hands of the people of Africa.
SimonRichards said 6 months ago
What are the estimated lifecycle costs, e.g. $ per kWh? Even if those might be thought not to be relevant due to the absence of realistically available alternatives at present, they give some idea of where this might ultimately end up in the longer term.
ZambiaPetaukeSchoolDistrict said 6 months ago
This sounds like a nice project, but I wonder if even the 20,000 dollar prize would be enough to get it off the ground. As a former volunteer I saw the difference that solar can make in a school (lights for the class rooms, and cell phone charging were amoung the biggest) but I also saw the huge costs involved as I worked with an NGO to plan a new solar system at a school. For 3 classroom blocks (2 classrooms and 1 small office each) and 5 teachers houses the costs were over 10000. While costs are surely less to a non landlocked country, deep cycle batteriers are very expensive and I found after 6 or 7 years top of the line batteries had greatly reduced capacity. This expensive system was able to power a tv or a radio however when UNICEF donated a computer to the school they were unable to power both the pc and the printer at the same time resulting in a black box were information could be entered but not taken out. A much reduced system like the one you mentioned earlier "2) Electrical items are getting increasingly equipment (A 2watt LED can produce as much light as a 60 watt incandescent). For under US$100 a basic module/LED lighting system can now be made for houses now. " does make a difference but the types of systems you mention in your propsal systems including computer labs and health clinic fridges are very expensive. I'd love to see what you expect your expenses on such a project to be. What would the 3,000 get you? what would the 20,000 get you? would this be enough to complete a project? if so what project?
ZambiaPetaukeSchoolDistrict said 6 months ago
This sounds like a nice project, but I wonder if even the 20,000 dollar prize would be enough to get it off the ground. As a former volunteer I saw the difference that solar can make in a school (lights for the class rooms, and cell phone charging were amoung the biggest) but I also saw the huge costs involved as I worked with an NGO to plan a new solar system at a school. For 3 classroom blocks (2 classrooms and 1 small office each) and 5 teachers houses the costs were over 10000. While costs are surely less to a non landlocked country, deep cycle batteriers are very expensive and I found after 6 or 7 years top of the line batteries had greatly reduced capacity. This expensive system was able to power a tv or a radio however when UNICEF donated a computer to the school they were unable to power both the pc and the printer at the same time resulting in a black box were information could be entered but not taken out. A much reduced system like the one you mentioned earlier "2) Electrical items are getting increasingly equipment (A 2watt LED can produce as much light as a 60 watt incandescent). For under US$100 a basic module/LED lighting system can now be made for houses now. " does make a difference but the types of systems you mention in your propsal systems including computer labs and health clinic fridges are very expensive. I'd love to see what you expect your expenses on such a project to be. What would the 3,000 get you? what would the 20,000 get you? would this be enough to complete a project? if so what project?
patisiukwu said 6 months ago
Wonderful concept. Though I've voted for my friends on Zittnet for their concept, I'm saying you guys are great too. I wish we all could win.
EFO said 6 months ago
Hi Zambia Petuake School District
The costs that you have described are high but not unusual, we can do the same for about 70% of what you stated. Prices for solar are getting increasing cheaper, in terms of equipment and energy efficiency. We take a holistic approach to solar installation, i.e. it’s not just about putting modules on the roof, but rather emphasize the creation of an energy efficient system with solar modules. Therefore instead of desktop PCs for installation (which can use up to 300W) we instead use highly energy efficient computers that use around 20W. By concentrating on energy efficiency you can dramatically reduce the cost of a solar system.
With our work, the big thing we are trying to break from is the project to project mentality, but rather to develop long-term ongoing programs in our target countries. The funds from ARC (if received) would part or a diverse funding strategy that will include financing from the private sector, corporate entities, private donors and traditional funding (our partner in Sierra Leone for example has been awarded funding for solar skills training at a technical institute). Any money from ARC will contribute to the over program, and its use will be driven by our local partners. Though to give you an idea of costs, a solar system to power computers at a secondary school would cost around US$5000 (even less if we use a DC power only system).
I hope this answers your queries. If need be, we would be happy to help your school in any way we can with its system design and troubleshooting.
All the best,
Paul
cjshaw said 6 months ago
Go Gang
Great Idea!
ecobenin said 6 months ago
This project very interesting and very appropriate in localities such as the ones where Eco-Benin is promoting community-based ecotourism in Benin; see details at http://www.ecobenin.org/IMG/pdf/Brochure_EcoBenin_English_version.pdf
I wish you the best succes
Gautier AMOUSSOU
www.ecobenin.org
sociolingo said 6 months ago
I wish you success with your project. The concept paper seems well thought out.
Do you have contact with the Barefoot College in India. They have trained women in Timbuktu, Mali and in Sierra Leone as solar engineers using a quite revolutionary teaching model.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhpyS5U1KY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_RT8pngx1A
http://www.barefootcollege.org/
Will there be any connection between what you are planning and the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation plans for a mega solar power grid from the Sahara to Europe?
http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/
http://www.reuk.co.uk/Solar-Power-for-Europe-from-Sahara.htm
Sociolingo Africa
http://www.sociolingo.com
EFO said 6 months ago
Thanks for your feedback sociolingo. We have been in direct contact with Barefoot College and are currently trying out ways in which we can work together. They have definitely done some excellent.
As of yet we have no connection with the Trans-Mediterranean Renewable Energy Cooperation plans for a mega solar power grid from the Sahara to Europe. However I have been reading about it with great interest. Perhaps in future, if the opportunity arises, we can contribute ideas to the initiative.
All the best,
Paul
atsiuqmlap said 5 months ago
Solar power from scratch is so ambitious as to be almost unattainable. Have you considered and intermediary step? If the land needed for solar were to be condemned for palm production, bio diesel could be produced and exported, the profits for which could be reinvested in solar to replace palm incrementally. This boot strapping method would leverage current expertise in palm production while integrating experience in energy production. This plan would take 20 years for solar to begin production, but there would be a clear and workable path to follow.
peacecorpschadsey said 3 months ago
I think this is a nice idea, but I am concerned with the sustainability aspect. In northern Benin, a German NGO came through and installed numerous solar power systems for schools, health centers, and town lighting. After 16 months around 80% of the solar systems were inoperable. These are the hard facts of installing high technology in the third world environment (northern Benin sees temps rise to 130 degrees during hot season, cool season dust blows in from the Sahel and coats everything). Your idea to combat this sounds nice, training students at university to install / service the systems. But, as you also pointed out, the education system here is limited. The university graduates who gain your training will be specialists...thusly it would take much of these communities’ resources to hire out these contractors to fix these systems...we're not even talking about parts / replacments. A lower cost option might prove more beneficial for the long term.
EFO said 3 months ago
Dear Peacecorpchadsey,
Thanks for the feedback. We have taken into account the problems you have indicated.
First, rather than running a project based system of inventions "coming through and installing" such as the German NGO, we run a programme based system, whereby we have a long-term presence in the region, and monitor long-term our existing systems. That we can address any problems that arise, and use these experiences to improve future installations, making them more sustainable.
Second we understand the harsh climate of West Africa (our experience has been in Liberia and Sierra Leone) and have attempted to adjust our materials accordingly. We use gel-sealed batteries that require no maintenance and top quality dust resistant and waterproof controllers and inverters to ensure they last in the West African climate. Many other solar installations in West Africa that we have witnessed, have cut corners in installation techniques and materials undermining the sustainability of the system. Part of our work is try and enforce highly quality norms for solar installations in West Africa, as too many organisations and companies try to cut corners as they can get away with.