Sparks Electrical News August 2017

LIGHTING

23

NEW POST TOP IDEAL FOR OUTDOOR APPLICATIONS T he MODRA Post Top from Regent Lighting is designed to operate a range of LEDs up to 48 W. The fitting, which weighs a total of 6.5 kg

SOLAR STREET LIGHTS ILLUMINATE BUJUMBURA

electronic trip connector protector with surge protection of 6 kV, with an additional removable inline surge arrester of 10 kV. All external screws are stainless steel and the cable glands are SABS approved to insulate IP67 ingress protection. The gaskets are manufactured from post cured silicone rubber material – silicone gaskets perform in a wide temperature range of -40 °C to +200 °C. The gear compartment has an ingress protection rating of IP65. The MODRA is particularly suited to outdoor applications including parking areas, parks and gardens, residential areas, squares and plazas.

including control gear, can be post mounted or wall mounted using a uniquely designed rotor bracket that enables adjustment of 180° on the horizontal plane. The LED (a 4000 K natural white LED with a CRI >70 is recommended) is an Osram high powered LED mounted onto an aluminium circuit board incorporating Zener diodes and thermal protection providing an asymmetrical distribution. It is designed to operate for 55 000 hours at an ambient temperature of 36 °C. The electronic power supply is suitable for operation at 220 - 240 V, 50 H single phase. It incorporates an

D owntown Bujumbura just got a little brighter, owing to an innovative partnership between Mayor Freddy Mbonimpa and Gigawatt Glob- al, a multinational renewable energy company and a founding member of United States Power Africa’s Be- yond the Grid programme. This week, solar-powered ‘light islands’ began appearing in the heavily-trafficked central bus station and nearby marketplace, extending commercial hours and personal safety. “The city of Bujumbura is pleased to be working with Gigawatt Global on this important solar street lighting project,” said Mbonimpa. “It will enhance se- curity and provide opportunities for economic devel- opment to the citizens of Bujumbura.” Gigawatt Global is now in discussions to scale the solar-powered ‘light islands’ programme throughout the city and in other major Burundian towns. “We are grateful and pleased to work with the city of Bujum- bura, and the Honourable Mayor Freddy Mbonimpa to realise this important first step of the solar street lighting project,” said Michael Fichtenberg, managing director of Gigawatt Global Burundi. “We intend to expand throughout the capital and to other locations as part of our larger programme of green electrifica- tion in Burundi, with 40 ‘light islands’ planned in the first phase of the programme. Every country in which we develop commercial scale solar fields will receive additional benefits like these ‘light islands’ and rural electrification with mini-grids.” Gigawatt Global, which provides 100% financing for its projects, pioneered commercial scale solar power plants in sub-Sahara Africa, launching the first one in Rwanda in 2014, which is currently supplying 6% of the country’s generation capacity. The com- pany will complete a 7.5 MW solar field in the Gitega region of Burundi in the next six months, which will supply 15% of the East African country’s generation capacity. Similar projects are currently being devel- oped in 10 African countries, including Liberia and South Sudan. “Over 95% of Burundi’s 11 million people lack ac- cess to electricity,” says Josef Abramowitz, CEO of Gi- gawatt Global. “By expanding our investments from commercial scale projects to include off-grid instal- lations, we are positively impacting the lives of mil- lions of people throughout Africa, and are becoming a leading force in green energy projects across the continent.” The ‘light islands’ project in Bujumbura is produced by a team that includes local members Patrick Nz- intunga, Gigawatt Global Regional Coordinator, and Deo Hugere, Gigawatt Global Engineer. The engineer- ing, procurement, and construction components of this project are being carried out by Asantys System. The pilot programme is supported by the Energy & Environmental Partnership (EEP), an initiative of the governments of the United Kingdom, Austria and Finland, and with an impact investment from entre- preneur Alex Goldberg. As part of Gigawatt Global’s commitment to additional Corporate Social Responsibility, one of its investors, Mark Gelfand, funded and built the STEM Centre (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at the Université Polytechnique de Gitega.

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SPARKS ELECTRICAL NEWS

AUGUST 2017