Phaesun Train Liberian Electricians
Phaesun have installed off-grid solar power plants for police barracks in Liberia in West Africa and trained Liberian electricians on site. The last of five complete 12 volt systems went into service last week. The solar plants installed in the Lofa region in the northernmost part of the country generate one, or two kilowatts peak depending on their respective design. This is sufficient for the lighting, water supply and the operation of charging stations for mobile phones. All components including the solar modules, charge controllers, batteries, motion sensors, water pumps, energy saving lamps and charging stations have been supplied by Phaesun GmbH.
In order to ensure system integrity and avoid users misusing the systems, the customer preferred to do without inverters installing exclusively 12 volt systems instead“, Phaesun-Trainer Francis Hillman explains. „Thus, the cabling was more extensive, however, the electricians we have trained mastered this task perfectly.” The Liberian electricians installed the solar modules at 15 meters height on the water tower roofs. In addition to the practical instructions, Hillman also conveyed the theoretical basics on photovoltaic systems and their components.
The five police barracks, three of which have neighbouring depots were built by the Association for technical Cooperation (Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GTZ) on behalf of the Federal Government of Germany. More than ten years of civil war have devastated the infrastructure of the West-African country almost completely. Since the end of the civil war in 2005 Liberia has been a Republic.
