Solar technologies brighten up rural areas

16th August 2013

By: Sashnee Moodley

Senior Deputy Editor Polity and Multimedia

  

Font size: - +

Electronics manufacturer Samsung Electronics Africa has developed a range of solar-powered technologies that have been adapted for African conditions and is suitable for use in rural villages and urban residential areas.

Samsung information technology and business-to-business solutions director Thierry Boulanger says South Africa has about 2 500 hours of sunshine a year and an average daily solar-radiation level of between 4.5 kWh/m2 and 6.5 kWh/m2.

According to the Department of Energy, the yearly 24-hour global solar-radiation average is about 220 W/m2 for South Africa, compared with about 150 W/m2 for parts of the US and about 100 W/m2 for Europe and the UK. This makes South Africa's local resource one of the highest in the world.

Boulanger adds that, therefore, it is advantageous to exploit this free, renewable and environment-friendly resource to develop cost-effective and mobile solutions to improve the lives of those in South Africa and other countries on the continent.

“We developed complete solar digital solutions for rural villages that are not connected to a power grid and urban neighbourhoods that are subjected to fluctuating electricity supply. The resultant offerings include complete education system infrastructure, power generation for small business enablement, a telecommunication and information technologies medical (tele-medical) centre for quick and accurate diagnoses, a health centre for the treatment of basic illnesses and basic lighting,” Boulanger explains.

The technologies include Samsung’s solar-powered Internet schools (SPISs), which were designed particularly for use in remote rural areas that have limited or no access to electricity and education infrastructure.

The aim of SPISs is to reach as many learners as possible by 2015 and they have been rolled out in many countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa. SPISs ensure that learners who reside in rural areas have the same facilities, access to information and educational possibilities as learners who reside in more privileged urban areas.

SPIS are equipped with Internet access, use a complete country-specific school curriculum covering Grade 0 to Grade 12 and are independent of an electricity source.

It is housed in a 12 m container for easy transportation by road, rail and sea. Rubberised solar panels are used instead of glass panels, as the latter can be destroyed by hail or during transport. Boulanger says the response to the SPISs has been excellent.

Samsung has also developed a solar-powered generator as part of its broader business enablement solutions.

“This product is naturally a plausible option for remote areas, where power supply is absent or intermittent. With this solution, Samsung offers an alternative to the diesel generator. The benefits provided by implementing a green energy source, the generator can provide power for up to eight years without any additional maintenance. It is a reliable power solution with a lifespan of up to 25 years. Additionally, the generator is cost effective. From a pricing point of view, return on investment can be recouped in just 30 months compared to similar diesel generators which require ongoing maintenance and support, ultimately reducing the need for servicing; this also reduces the costs of running the technology,” states Boulanger.

Further, diesel generators use nonrenewable resources and pollute the environment with fumes and noise. A solar-powered generator can be deployed in less than an hour and, for increased power needs, several generators can be daisy chained.

Meanwhile, a solar-powered mobile healthcare-centre model was launched in Cape Town at the twenty-third World Economic Forum on Africa in May.

Boulanger says the mobile centres are built for use in remote rural areas and are intended to overcome the economic and geographic barriers that prevent people across Africa from obtaining quality medical treatment.

Samsung’s tele-medical centre model was developed to deal with the lack of medical infrastructure and highly qualified doctors in rural areas.

Patients in rural areas, Boulanger points out, wait a long time before receiving a diagnosis, owing to lack of infrastructure.

The tele-medical centre can gather patient information and transmit the information to a medical centre, where qualified doctors can analyse the information and send back recommendations and prescriptions using the Internet.

A patient can then make only one trip to a hospital to receive the correct medication and treatment, as a result of receiving an accurate initial diagnosis, facilitated by a Samsung tele-medical centre.

Meanwhile, Samsung recommends its solar-powered lanterns that use light-emitting diodes, which are more energy efficient and last much longer than conventional light bulbs.

The lanterns are charged from a central charging kiosk, with a solar-panel-equipped rooftop. They are expected to provide lighting for more than ten years while producing no greenhouse gases.

“The adoption of solar-powered solutions, specifically for those people who do not have access to on-grid power, will drastically improve the quality of life for many of Africa’s inhabitants. The farming industry is a good example of how modern technology has improved people’s way of life. A farmer who has Internet access can easily determine when to plant and stay informed about weather forecasts and market prices, making his/her operational process more efficient and convenient,” Boulanger notes.

He believes that, as more solar power systems are deployed to the outlying and remote areas of the continent, the benefits of these cost-effective energy alternatives will be more acknowledged and accepted.

However, Boulanger adds that, for these technologies to be successful, it is vital that there is buy-in from product manufacturers and governments.

Currently, solar-powered solutions initiatives are deployed by Samsung and piloted on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with governments, to ascertain where the solar solutions are most needed in countries that include South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Angola and Rwanda. Boulanger states that ministries of education have also started commercially investing in SPISs, adding that Africa’s growth depends on investment in the continent’s communities.

“Samsung is passionate about giving consumers the opportunity to live a smarter life with no limitations. We drive this through our research and development (R&D) in the needs specific to the continent and its people. As such, our R&D team ensures that product planning, design and developments are responsive to the needs of people, which does require substantial investment. In addition to monetary investments, we also invest a substantial amount of time and energy in staff to ensure we have the best minds for the development of our technologies,” he adds.

Edited by Tracy Hancock
Creamer Media Contributing Editor

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION