ARE Member Aptech Africa Installs Solar Containerised Energy Storage System in Sierra Leone
13 Sep 2021 – Aptech Africa is working on a solar system to drive smart climate technology at Njala University. This project includes a 100 KW PV generating plant with a 50 KW inverter capacity and 145 KWh energy storage system in a containerized modular and expandable solution. This system directly benefits Njala University Hospital, the Njala Mokonde community, and Njala University students and staff.
This system uses groundwater that is pumped and stored and then distributed through a piped system. There is a dedicated reservoir tank that supplies the Njala University Hospital and terminal water outlet points to distribute water throughout the Njala Community.
The irrigation system uses solar power to pump water from a borehole to a reservoir tank and outlet water filter. The system uses gravity-fed drip irrigation. The drip irrigation system is fitted in a 100m x 50m greenhouse, as well as 1 hectare of farmland that is divided into 10 plots, each with a set of terminal driplines.
Njala University is a public university located in Njala and Bo Sierra Leone. It’s the second-largest university in Sierra Leone and was founded in 1964 with the help of USAID. The University has a School of Agriculture which is focused on teaching the best agriculture techniques such as solar water pumping for irrigation.