Off Grid Kisokwe Primary School of Tanzania
Needs at Kisokwe School
With electricity, schools can integrate information, communications, and technology in the delivery of their curriculums, offer adult education after school hours, provide lighting to classrooms, staff offices, and teacher housing, and offer an energy station to the community to allow them to use the electricity for phone charging and other productive uses. While the school is not far from electrical lines, Kisokwe Primary school has received no funding over the years to connect to these. It became important to install a solar-powered system that provides clean energy at a cheaper rate. Many public primary schools, like Kisokwe Primary School, aim to install these kinds of systems to harness the abundant power of the sun to provide electricity for the school.
Zerobase
To address these challenges, ZeroBase designed a new hybrid power product, called the K-SERIES. The K-SERIES was specifically designed for rural electrification applications and is the first of its kind in the area. The compact system included a solar array that is stationary overhead, and an enclosed power management unit with industry-leading SimpliPhi Power energy storage. Since the K-SERIES will be exposed to children regularly, safety was of high importance when designing and installing it, and the K-SERIES was equipped with multiple safety notices and locks. The system is easy-to-operate and requires minimal maintenance.
Installation & Commissioning
ZeroBase staff members, along with local partner Sustenersol, installed and commissioned the system in Tanzania. Installing the K-SERIES on site took one day, and on October 22, 2015, the K-SERIES was unveiled and commissioned in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by school and government officials alike. Parents and family members also traveled long distances to attend the ceremony. The children enjoyed creating and performing a dramatic skit to demonstrate the importance of safety measures required when near the system.
The delivery, installation, and training with the K-SERIES was a success. The Kisokwe Primary School, and surrounding community have been using it to light classrooms, extend school operating hours, and power electric teaching equipment such as projectors.
