INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Huawei’s Microgrid Solar
Solution powers rural Cameroon
C
ameroon’s electricity development
had been quite slow; the areas
covered by electrification were
only 28% of the country’s territory, and
80% of the power was concentrated
in the capital of Yaoundé as well as the
economic port, Douala. Unfortunately,
only 56.8% of the population had access
to electricity; the national population was
just under 24 million (by 2016), which
meant more than 40% of the population
lived without power. About 80% of
the rural population still used wood as
their primary life energy. According to
Cameroon national power development
planning, the current investments into
hydropower, thermal power stations,
and national grid construction was quite
extensive, yet development could not
meet the power demands for the vast
“Huawei implemented
a natural cooling
design according to
Cameroon’s climate
situation, which
greatly reduced
its system power
consumption.”
www.intelligentcio.com
number of country’s residents in the
short-term.
Cameroon urgently wanted to realise
‘rural electrification’ in order to: improve
the electricity access rate in rural areas,
improve the living standards of its
citizens, promote the development and
utilisation of local resources, and further
drive the development of education,
medical care, communications,
manufacturing and other industries.
Solution
Huawei – with strong technical
capabilities in the field of photovoltaic
inverters, along with continuous
technological innovations and long-term
accumulated experience in the energy
storage field – provided its Microgrid
Solar Solution. This advanced solution
contains an energy storage system and
supports diesel generator access, with
the goal to provide reliable power for
areas without grids or access to power.
Huawei provides standardised and
customised configurations according
to customers’ requirements and load
conditions. The solution supports PV-
installed capacity between 30 kW to
300 kW for now, and can expand to a
MW-level installed capacity by 2018.
With advanced Maximum Power
Point Tracker (MPPT) technology, high
efficiency inverter, advanced charging
and discharging management
technologies, the overall system
power generation capacity is 3%
more than other solutions which
also helps customers achieve more
benefits. The energy storage system
utilises battery technology that
withstands high temperatures and still
provides good performance in these
environments. Huawei implemented
a natural cooling design according to
Cameroon’s climate situation, which
greatly reduced its system power
consumption. Meters were installed in
the users’ homes which can recharge
according to their electricity demands.
The background management system
processes the automated electricity
metering by recording the sales details
and usage information, and helps
to simplify the management of the
operations department.
Results
Huawei Microgrid Solar Solution now
helps 166 villages (and over 120,000
people) benefit from electricity in
Cameroon; the average annual power
generation is now more than 17 million
kWh, the rural electricity coverage
rate increased from 18% to 20%.
The project greatly enhanced local
residents’ living standards, education
and medical conditions, and improved
basic conditions for the development
of agriculture, communications, and
manufacturing industries. The project has
been widely recognised by local citizens,
and the government also receives more
political support from its people.
With its simple, efficient, and reliable
features, Huawei Microgrid Solar
Solutions are constantly winning
customers’ trust, providing power in
remote and isolated areas previously
not able to receive energy, and creating
much greater value for society. n
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