Our Stories
Life Saving Solar Power
The Background
It finally happened! You may re-call from our previous article (https://maftech.org/the-advantages-of-a-solar-system-in-mougulu/) when CRMF Technician Lukas Schadegg took a one hour’s flight to the remote area of Mougulu in the Western Province for the purpose of designing and planning a solar-power solution for the Evangelical Church of PNG Health Center (ECPNG) in Mougulu.
The ECPNG Health Center is located in the remote community of Mougulu in the Western Province of Papua New Guinea. The facility provides a delivery room for mothers and next door to it is the main health post which accommodates other ill and injured patients. The health center operates 24/7 and consists of four Community Health Workers. With a total of 18,000 people living within Mougulu, the Community Health Workers normally attend to a total of 3,000 – 8,000 patients each month. Even surrounding villages and communities within the Western Province consider Mougulu a central place they can go to in order to access health services.
The Challenges
The ECPNG health center was using a combination of diesel a generator and a 12-volt solar system. Both, however, were unreliable and have caused problems for the staff and patients.These problems include the inability to run life-saving oxygen concentrators, ceiling fans and more concerning is the fact that the vaccines and anti-venom go to waste as they are not stored at the right temperature because of the limited power.
In addition to this, is the expense on vaccines, anti-venom, five 200 Litre diesel fuel drums, and additional transport costs by plane since there are no accessible roads.
The requirement for the health center was to design a solar system that runs the facility independently from the generator. As Mougulu is so remote, our client was looking for a power system that runs off-grid and is sustainable in the future, low maintenance, viable and suitable for its remote setting.
The remoteness of the location made the logistics one of the biggest challenges. With no access to roads the only way to fly in supplies is either through MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship) or other aviation operators. As there are strict regulation about flying lithium batteries, we selected and used the Tesvolt batteries which come in modules and could be assembled on site to a full battery bank.
Thirty-two solar panels (10kWp) were installed on the health center’s roof providing energy for the facility. Included in the solar system were two Solar Inverters (SMA Sunny Boy) and one Battery Inverter (Sunny Island) which work in conjunction with the Tesvolt battery bank. Both products are manufactured in Germany and have proven to be high in quality, reliable and long lasting.
The solar installation has ensured the vital health services at the ECPNG health center can continue to meet the needs of the people in Mougulu by providing a consistent, high quality and dependable power source.
With a reliable 24/7 power source, vaccines and anti-venoms won’t go to waste as they are now kept at a consistent cool temperature in the vaccine fridge. The Community Health Workers won’t have to worry about ruining the life-saving oxygen concentrator for the patient or using limited light throughout night emergencies to do operations or assisting mothers deliver their babies.
The off-grid solution for the ECPNG health center is very appropriate for its setting, providing a reliable power source and also enables the health center to save money in the future as they won’t have to pay for the expensive diesel fuel for the generator. The system can even cater for additional loads for future extensions made to the facility.
The ECPNG Health Center running on their newly installed solar system.
It is tough for our Community Health Workers. But we thank CRMF that with the new Solar Installation ECPNG Health Center can now operate 24/7 without having to worry about power.”