The Bamyan province in Central Afghanistan is famous for its giant Buddha statues that were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. So far, people in this area either relied on small diesel generators or domestic solar panels for their electricity supply or they had no access to electricity at all. The Bamyan Renewable Energy Programme for the first time brings an electrical system to the communities that provides homes, businesses and government buildings with cost-efficient electricity 24 hours a day. The PV generator of the system is supplemented with a diesel generator and batteries for periods of poor weather.
SMA delivered 118 Sunny Island inverters, 55 Sunny Tripower inverters, 4 Multicluster boxes and 79 Sunny Island Chargers to Afghanistan. The system was funded by the New Zealand Government and planned and constructed by a consortium of two New Zealand companies: Sustainable Energy Services International (SESI) and NETcon International Limited
“The project is not just about solar panels, wires and poles – but also about health, education, economic growth and laying down a foundation for future development to build on,” says Tony Woods of SESI. “To effectively improve the lives of the people in the war stricken country of Afghanistan, it is extremely important to bring a reliable energy supply not only to homes, but also to businesses, hospitals, schools and government buildings. Photovoltaics is the quickest, most sustainable and cost-effective energy source to achieve this even under harshest conditions,” explains Volker Wachenfeld, senior vice president Hybrid & Storage at SMA.
You can find an article on this project on our corporate blog.
About SMA
The SMA Group generated sales of €1.5 billion in 2012 and is the global market leader for solar inverters, a key component of all PV plants and, as an energy management group, offers innovative key technologies for future power supply structures. It is headquartered in Niestetal, near Kassel, Germany, and is represented internationally in 21 countries. The Group employs more than 5,000 people worldwide. SMA’s broad product portfolio includes a compatible inverter for every type of module on the market and for all plant sizes. The product range includes both inverters for photovoltaic plants connected to the grid as well as inverters for off-grid systems. SMA is therefore able to provide ideal technical inverter solutions for all plant sizes and types. Since 2008, the Group’s parent company, SMA Solar Technology AG, has been listed on the Prime Standard of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (S92) and also in the TecDAX index. In recent years, SMA has received numerous awards for excellence as an employer and achieved first place in the nationwide “Great Place to Work®” competition in 2011 and 2012 and fourth place in 2013.
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