German manufacturer Tesvolt will deliver 3MWh of power storage to 25 villages in Mali, Africa, which the company says will allow the currently diesel-reliant residents to radically decrease electricity expenses.
Tesvolt said that it has made a deal with social start-up Africa Green Tec to bring in lithium battery storage systems coupled with solar.
An overall sum of 50 containerized solar-plus-storage systems will be outfitted, each with a 37-45kWp solar PV system and 60kWh of battery storage.
The Malian villagers are at the moment paying about US$1.59 per kWh through diesel generators, or are left with no access to power at all.
Tesvolt argues its containerized solution will supply power for just US$ 0.21 per kWh. In addition to saving money, the solar-plus-storage system will be to a great extent cleaner than diesel and do away with noise pollution.
The full project, to be finished by the last quarter of 2018, will cost US$ 159524.99 per container and will include both the solar and storage components. The preliminary cost is being covered by crowd funding and the final portion by a loan.
The villagers will be able to use power at sunset from about 6pm until 10pm, plus to about nine hours during daytime.
It may in fact be easier to work in the evening as average temperatures during the day can be 45°C. The made-in Germany lithium iron phosphate battery storage systems have their own solar-powered cooling elements.
The first solar container with a Tesvolt storage system is going to be set up in the village of Djoliba, south of the capital city Bamako. By the end of 2018 all 25 villages should be supplied with solar power.
“The project exhibits the potential of solar power and storage systems in remote regions of the world that aren’t linked to the power grid”, says Simon Schandert, Director of Engineering at Tesvolt.
This summer Tesvolt was awarded a 2.68MWh project in Rwanda, to power water pumps in combination with a utility-scale solar installation.
