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Botswana: Gaborone Gets Solar-Powered Streetlights
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Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone)
7 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008
A major development in the drive towards utilisation of solar energy took place last Tuesday when a local company that focuses on electricity-saving devices and innovative energy applications, Vilart Energy, put up two solar-powered streetlights in Gaborone.
The streetlights are part of a demonstration the company is carrying out for the Gaborone City Council. The facility runs on a 75-watt PV panel, which is powered by the sunlight that falls directly on it for 5.5 hours per day. The converted energy from the sun is stored in a 700-watt battery, which stores enough energy to power the light for five days even if there is no sunlight. It has an inbuilt light sensor controller that automatically switches the light on at dusk. The facility has minimal maintenance needs. The PV panel has a 20-year lifespan, while the battery carries a two-year warranty. The facility is lab-tested and approved by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).
Vilart Energy's chairman, Mesh Moeti, says the company has made presentations to various local government authorities countrywide, and has put up the Gaborone demonstration to prove the efficacy of the technology. The company is ready to rollout the technology countrywide. "We put up the demonstration project at our own cost because we believe in the efficiency of solar energy. We see this as part of the solution to the current electricity problems that our country is going through. With our technology, every village in this country can have street lighting," Moeti said. Vilart Energy has technology to operate traffic lights by solar power. Moeti said some of the company's applications include solar-powered pumping systems for boreholes of all sizes and capacities. He said if widely applied, solar pumping system would enhance the capacity of Botswana's agricultural sector.
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