INDUSTRY TRENDS

Hardenberg’s solar system will power clinics in Zambia

More than two dozen clinics in Zambia will soon be running on a solar energy system pioneered in Hardenberg. Henk Meulink (63) has developed the system that will provide free electricity to small hospitals in remote areas that are not connected to the electricity grid.

The system is called “The African Solarbox” and consists of six solar panels and eight batteries. Together they supply a maximum of 10 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day. This is enough for lighting, a refrigerator with medicines, and maybe some smaller equipment. During the day, the solar panels provide power directly, and at the same time charge the battery, so that there is enough power to get through the night.

The Hardenberg Solar Fund will provide assistance to African health clinics

At the beginning of February, 24 of these solar boxes will be shipped to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. From there, the container will make another 2,000-kilometre journey into northwest Zambia.

In Lukulu, solar boxes will be further distributed: “The boxes will soon have to go to the country one by one on the back of an off-road vehicle,” says the entrepreneur from Hardenberg.