Southern Sudan - Solar electrification of a hospital in an isolated area

Presentation of the association and the context

Doctors Without Borders (DWB)

Doctors Without Borders (DWB) is an international humanitarian medical organisation founded in 1971 by doctors and journalists. It is recognized as a public service and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. DWB provides medical assistance to people whose lives and health are threatened by epidemics, natural disasters and lack of care, but mainly in the event of armed conflict. This service is completely independent and partial.

The context of the project

In Southern Sudan, the war has forced almost a third of the population to flee their homes. While many had hoped for peace in Southern Sudan after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011, another conflict erupted in 2013 between factions in the fledgling country. Since 2014, Doctors without Borders teams have been providing assistance to people who live in Old Fangak, along the White Nile and the Phow River, where, in the rainy season from May to October each year, the land turns into a giant swamp. Difficulty of access to this area has made it a refuge for people fleeing the fighting but also limits access to healthcare. The DWB hospital in Old Fangak is often the only place where local people can receive care for serious problems.

Presentation of the project

The energy problem

In the Old Fangak area there is no electrical distribution network. The hospital and the building where Doctors Without Borders’ international staff live is currently supplied with electricity by diesel generators. These generators are running 24/7 in the hospital and on average 17 hours a day in the DWB building. However, Old Fangak is located in the middle of the swamps, with no means of access other than by river barge or aerial shuttle. These transportation difficulties increase the average cost of diesel fuel to $3.9/litre, while diesel consumption reaches 2,560 litres every two months. The high consumption and price of diesel, the conditions of transport, the instability of the country and DWB’s desire to reduce its carbon footprint in these areas of intervention make it essential to reduce the use of diesel.

The adopted solutions

In order to guarantee a stable, more economical and environmentally friendly energy supply, DWB want to install a photovoltaic hybrid system to partially replace the use of diesel generators (the goal is to reduce annual consumption by more than half: 10,000 litres instead of 25,000 litres in 2019).

• Technical Data:

– Installed power: 26,460 kWp PV (84 Mono-Si P-type PERC modules of 315Wp – REC TwinPeak 2)

– Backup generator: 33kVA

– MPPT Solar Charge Controller: 4 x Studer VarioString VS-120

– Inverters/Loaders: 6 x Studer XTH6000

– Storage: 125 kWh (Hoppecke SunPower OPV 2-2900 – 2600 Ah of 48V DC Lead/Acid)

In order to guarantee the durability of the installations, a monitoring system is planned on two axes: local and remote.