Sunshine is our business.

Burkina Faso, Nassoumbou: Improving education with solar power

Lighting for a primary school

Also in 2009, Centrosolar donated a photovoltaic installation to a school in the West African country Burkina Faso, one of the world’s poorest nations. Electrification of the school in Nassoumbou, situated in the north of the country, is a project led by the association Sonnenenergie für Westafrika (SEWA: Solar Energy for West Africa). Thanks to the modules, there is now sufficient power for lighting two classrooms, as well as for one outdoor lamp.

The installation is located on the flat roof of the primary school in Nassoumbou. The village of 2,800 inhabitants has no access to the state power grid, the nearest connection being 45km away. The PV installation consists of three SM220S/M55 crystalline modules, developed by Centrosolar specifically for grid-independent solar installations. “In Germany, these modules are used primarily on holiday homes or mobile homes. In developing countries like Burkina Faso they are used for rural electrification,” says Frank Heise, Manager of the Stand Alone Systems Division at Centrosolar.

Examination pass rates significantly improved

Every module has a capacity of 55 Wp. At an average of twelve hours of sunshine per day, the installation generates 800 – 900 Wh/d of power, enough to supply two classrooms with five energy-saving lamps each, as well as an outdoor lamp. Pupils can now do homework and study in the evening. Teachers also benefit from electrification, as they are able to prepare lessons or do correction work using electrical light. Solar projects in other areas of the country show that examination pass rates in schools have markedly improved since electrical lighting powered by solar installations was introduced. For Centrosolar, the project marked the beginning of longstanding collaboration with SEWA.

You can find further information about the project and the SEWA association at: http://solar-afrika.de/