Engineers Without Borders - Improving Well-Being With Technology

Challenge

In Togo the electricity rate is only 26%. Most electricity is imported from neighboring countries. The village Yikpa (300 km from Lomé) and the NGO ‘Jeunes Volontaires pour l’Environnement’ have requested the installation of a 14 kW pico solar power plant to supply the village with electricity. The project will serve as a pilot to demonstrate the feasibility of sustainable minigrids in rural Togo.

The solar plant is just large enough to supply the village with energy and small enough to limit impact on the environment. In this project we assist in setting up the business model, prepare the technical design, give training to the local community and assist in the construction and troubleshooting of the power plant. We work closely with the local organisation such that they own the design and it will deliver a long term sustainable solution.

Goals

Accessibility to affordable electricity to meet the Yikpa village in their minimum lighting requirements according to planning. In particular the project team has defined global goals:

Create a local electricity distribution grid in the Yikpa village; expandable to meet future needs
Access to affordable renewable electricity in the Yikpa village by designing and installing a 14 kW pico solar power plant.
Select and set-up a local organisation within the Yikpa village to run and maintain the system.
Assist the funding phase by the development of a business plan together with the local entrepreneur and JVE, to be approved by the village committee

Long-term objectives amongst others:

Increase the Standard of Living
Serve as a pilot project for sustainable offgrid energy systems for rural Togo
Create a local social entreprise that develops, implements and manages offgrid sustainable minigrid solutions
Create local business opportunities using the electricity, with the local population

At the moment the project has a basic design ready and is looking for funding of the implementation phase. Do not hesitate to contact us if you see an opportunity to contribute to this project.