Today, access to renewable energies is at the core of the energy models of many African countries and is a key factor in enabling these countries to develop. In this context, Ingeteam made the decision to collaborate with Synergie Solaire and help carry out development aid projects by commissioning solar systems, in cooperation with a number of non-governmental organizations. In this specific case, Lumières Partagées was the organization responsible for implementing the project.
Given the fact that Benin, an African country located to the west of Nigeria, has great solar potential, this technology was selected in order to make the most use of this available resource and to obtain a continuous, long-lasting power supply through the installation of a battery bank. This is in contrast to the national power grid, which is unstable and even non-existent in some regions of the country.
The project is located in a village called Kotopounga, in northern Benin, close to the border with Togo. Thanks to the generation of solar energy and to the battery storage system, the hospital is now less dependent on a grid suffering constant power outages. As a result, patients can now receive improved healthcare.
Ingeteam was invited to put its knowledge and technology to the service of this humanitarian project: the solar electrification of the hospital in Kotopounga. The company, through its French subsidiary, took the decision to collaborate by donating the material required to connect an energy storage system associated with a PV system. In this case, Ingeteam donated a PV inverter, a battery inverter and an electrical protection cabinet. Furthermore, Ingeteam sent one of its French engineers to carry out the commissioning of the system.