Case Study
City of Joy , Democratic Republic of the Congo
Off-Grid
AC-coupled Hybrid System
Two banks of 16 Trojan batteries were installed and wired in strings of four to match the inverter voltage ( 48V ). The eight remaining batteries will be used with an AC battery charger for general use in the community .
Prior to the solar installation in 2012 , the City of Joy was powered by the Congo ’ s unstable national electric grid , which only provided electricity for a couple of hours a day , and a backup diesel generator . The generator was oversized for the community ’ s needs and was loud , polluting , and expensive to operate . When operating at its full yearly capacity of 9,885 kWh , the solar system is estimated to save the City of Joy more than $ 6,000 per year by offsetting the cost of diesel .
The City of Joy ’ s solar system was installed over 10 days in August 2012 by representatives from Green Empowerment , SunPower , Solartechnik Stiens and local installers and volunteers . The installation team faced some challenges while installing the solar system . Lack of basic electrical equipment and tools like conduit , electrical boxes and wood made it difficult to work efficiently . There were hammers without nails and drills without drill bits , but after 10 days of hard work the solar system installed and turned on . And when the power went out in the city that night , the City of Joy stood alone as a beacon of hope and a symbol of a sustainable future when the surrounding areas went dark .
For more information contact : Trojan Battery Company : www . trojanbattery . com Green Empowerment : www . greenempowerment . org VDay : http :// drc . vday . org / city-of-joy
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RE City of Joy • CS1114
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