Press release Sdr. Ydby 5 August 2022
The Danish-developed Sun Generator will increase the energy supply in Mali through cooperation between the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, the sister organization Mali Folkecenter and the Danish company Energivagt.
In the West African country of Mali, climate change’s increased temperatures and longer periods of drought are something that is close to the heart of life. At the same time, the unmet demand for energy makes it difficult for everything from households to workplaces to function stably over time. The Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy in Thy and the Mali Folkecenter have therefore collaborated for a few years with the Danish company Energivagt to develop a Sun Generator that can solve some of the energy challenges in Mali.
In recent years, we at the Mali Folkecenter have focused on setting up 17,000 solar panels in schools, maternity clinics and emergency rooms, and at the same time trained the local population to maintain them. But there is still a long way to go before ordinary families in Mali have access to a sufficient and stable energy supply, says Ibrahim Togola, who is chairman of the Mali Folkecenter and who next week 32 (August 8 12) will visit Denmark and the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy to coordinate further cooperation.
Use the solar energy directly without loss
With 12 hours of sun every day for most of the year, the use of Sun Generators represents a great potential for energy supply to workplaces and households. A Sun Generator converts the direct current produced by solar panels into alternating current, which can then be used directly to drive, for example, an oven, a stove or power tools. By using the energy directly, you avoid the loss that would occur if, for example, the power had to be stored in a battery, and at the same time the solution is a simpler and less resource-demanding set-up.
The Sun Generator, as we know it today, can supply sufficient electricity for kitchen equipment, which has an output of a maximum of 400 Watts. But it is not enough for many workplaces, and therefore our goal is to develop and scale up the Sun Generator so that it can deliver 3,000 W – i.e. 3 kW. It will be enough to operate a welding machine, for example, says Jane Kruse, director of the Nordic Folkecenter for Sustainable Energy, and continues:
Such development work is expensive, and therefore Folkecenter together with Energivagt and Mali Folkecenter will now seek to obtain two million kroner to finance a two-year development work of the Sun Generator.
People’s centers closely connected
The Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy has functioned as a catalyst and test center for the development of renewable energy technologies and sustainable solutions since 1983, and in the late 90s the contact between the Folkecentret in Thy and Mali arose. A collaboration between Mali’s then president and later chairman of the African Union, Alpha Oumar Konare, Ibrahim Togola, and the Nordic Folkecenter in Denmark resulted in 1999 in the establishment of the Mali Folkecenter, which today has 40 employees and a wide-ranging energy development work in the West African country .
For further comments, interview appointment or info:
Jane Kruse, director of the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, 40 60 45 51, jk@folkecenter.dk
Ibrahim Togola, chairman of the Mali Folkecenter, +223 2020 0617, ibrahim.togola@gmail.com