Power Overview

Energy is the cornerstone of modern society. Lack of electricity is a huge obstacle to eradicating poverty and an impediment to development of advanced educational and health care facilities, as well as business and finance sectors.

Electrical power provides a developing community with the ability to use technology to implement educational and economic projects, accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of community development.

Power at Orkeeswa Secondary School

Orkeeswa Secondary School is located far off of the country’s unreliable electrical grid, but needs electricity to support educational facilities including science and computer laboratories, teachers’ staff house, student boarding, as well as day-to-day classroom activities.

Computer and science laboratories on Orkeeswa’s campus are necessary to provide hands-on training and develop skills the students need to be successful in modern world. An electrified boarding house will allow the most vulnerable students to live on campus.

Solar Power

A renewable power system is desired in order to make the Orkeeswa Secondary School economically and environmentally sustainable. Since the school is located near the equator, ample sunlight is available and EWB Tanzania Team designed and installed a solar power system at Orkeeswa Secondary School.

During the 2009 assessment trip, team members met with representatives of Chloride Exide, a regional solar energy system supplier who donated a 180-Watt PV system to Orkeeswa in 2009 to accommodate power demands of the first classroom. The donated panels provide power to light the classrooms and allow the teachers to use laptop computers, but the system capacity needed to be expanded to accommodate the expanded campus and facilitate use of multiple computers, projectors and  laboratory equipment.

Design 

The EWB Tanzania Team designed a 1,080-Watt PV system to power a computer lab, a science lab, as well as the classrooms and staff offices.  The design included an assessment of the en needs of the school for both the current number of students and the planned future expansion.

The PV system was sized to power the existing school facilities, as well as a future library and computer lab and supply the school with 2.5 kilowatt-hours per day, even during the rainy season. The battery bank uses ten 12-volt 200 amp-hour flooded lead acid deep cycle batteries wired in series, providing a 24V, 2000 ampere-hour system for the school.

Implementation

This project received a generous grant from Boeing, which was used to purchase eight 135-Watt PV panels, ten 200 ampere-hours batteries, a 2024-Watt inverter and a 60 Amp charge controller for this totally off-grid system.

The team worked with Chloride Exide to purchase PV equipment and install it at Orkeeswa in June 2010. The original 180-Watt PV system was relocated from the classroom to electrify an on-campus boarding house.

Next Steps

EWB plans to monitor the PV system at Orkeeswa in the future and assist with maintenance and training, as needed.

EWB is partnering with the Red Sweater Project to provide a renewable energy system for Red Sweater's new school in Northern Tanzania.

Email tanzania@ewbportland.org if you are interested in joining the team, traveling to Tanzania, sharing similar design/construction experiences or assisting with obtaining the funds necessary to complete this project.