A programme to bring electricity to communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa, has achieved a number of successes recently – most recently on the Island of Idjwi.
Over forty miles long Idjwi is the tenth largest lake-island in the world. A few members of the 330,000 population had rudimentary electricity in the 1940’s – most have never had it. This 270kWp solar project alone brings domestic AC electricity to 5% of the island’s residents, for the first time.
Importantly, the General Hospital in Dikungu now benefits from a twenty-four hour power supply. 
Dr Pengelu says that, before the arrival of this installation, night nurses were forced to care for patients by torchlight, or by using the light from their mobile phones – with many patients too frightened to spend the night in the hospital in complete darkness. But with the arrival of overnight lighting on the wards, patients no longer fear to stay – even when there is no overnight nurse.
Apodina says that for ordinary residents, this installation brings power to their home, and street lighting in a number of location means that shops and stalls can remain open after dark – allowing people to go shopping. They can now see friends, socialise, and work late into the night.
Facilitated by ANSER DRC – a government funded body whose aim is to provide electricity to all rural areas by 2050 – these significant installations were carried out by GoShop Energy, who have considerable expertise in building electricity infrastructure.
Solar energy is harvested from 664 solar panels – offering almost 300kWp – by SmartSolar MPPT solar charge controllers. The energy is stored in BYD lithium batteries with a capacity of 525kWh. Seven Fronius Eco 27 solar inverters provide daytime AC power; with surplus energy being directed to storage.
Stored AC power is controlled by Quattro inverter/chargers. The Quattro devices also provide AC power from battery storage – ensuring 24 hour electricity provision.
A Cerbo GX communication centre device harmonises all installed equipment and make live and historic data available locally on a GX Touch screen, and provides remote engineering access via Victron’s free-to-use internet based platform Victron Remote Management – VRM.
Additionally, 1000 homes in Wembonyama, in the Sankuru province, have also been connected to a minigrid.
The installation includes some street lighting in what is planned to be a future tourist city. Prior to GoShop Energy‘s installations, this region had never known electricity and the lack of electrical infrastructure had hampered the areas socio-economic development, severely limiting opportunities for residents.
ANSER instructed GoShop Energy to build four solar photovoltaic power plants with a total capacity of 270 kWp, and the project was completed last year. The work provided 900 single-phase connections to homes, together with another 100 three-phase connections. Residents are able to purchase energy using a smart meter payment system.
Everybody wins with this boost to the local economy having provided the means to allow commercial development. This is a significant development for an area with the ambition to become a tourist hub and the initiative is set to transform the lives of the community now that they are provided with a clean and reliable energy.
Let’s take a look at the difference these installations are making to the lives of local people:
