Siemens will electrify 100 villages in Gabon

In February, Siemens AG published a press release about a PV rural electrification project for 100 villages in Gabon. But the first systems were actually installed more than half a year ago. »It was probably released that late due to the sales of Siemens Solar,« guesses Albin Schneider, regional director for Africa and the Americas at Siemens' Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) unit.

© Siemens AG In a project of Siemens in Gabon, a hermetically sealed steel cubicle protects the solar systems' BOS equipment from theft or vandalism.

Siemens says it was awarded the €20 million ($17.2 million) project by Gabon's Ministry of Energy two years ago. After a preparatory logistical phase to select the villages, sprinkled all across Gabon, the first was electrified in fall. The last is slated for completion by the end of 2003.

Each of the 100 villages will receive the same solar equipment. The village school will be powered by a 660 W 220 VAC system and the hospital by a 550 W 220 VAC system, while 12 houses and four street lamps each are designed for 12 V DC applications and powered by two 55 W Siemens modules, charge controllers from Steca, and batteries.

Siemens has developed a hermetically sealed, vermin-proof steel cubicle to store all BOS equipment for the solar systems. An electronic circuit breaker in the cubicle automatically reconnects the systems in case of short-circuits or overloads, so the system is expected to run maintenance-free for several years. To protect the equipment from theft or vandalism, only the village elder will own a key to the cubicle.

According to Schneider, this project is the country's first large-scale PV involvement. Though Gabon does not charge any import taxes for solar equipment, »only a few systems are installed,« he says. ms
 

Michael Schmela
© PHOTON International, March 2002