In 2013, GSI won a contract from the Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine (HJF) to provide site visits and solar PV electric system designs for 20 health care facilities in rural sections of Tanzania. The designs were generated on behalf of the United States Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) and the Walter Reed Research Project (WRP) and are critical for the WRP expansion of treatment services to HIV infected individuals in developing countries.
The twenty site assessments, feasibility studies and system designs provide the necessary information to HJF and GSI to undertake the installation of solar PV systems in rural areas of South-Western Tanzania well beyond the reaches of the electrical grid. The health care facilities include medicine dispensaries, clinics, health centers, and hospitals and are located in the most rural areas of the country.
GSI recommended the installation one of the four basic system sizes identified by GSI at each clinic, dispensary or health center. The basic sizes are 2, 4, 6 or 8 kW solar arrays with standard inverters, batteries, and other balance of system components. The basic inverter unit may be doubled or tripled depending on the array size. The advantage of this single inverter approach is future support and maintenance. Local Tanzanian electricians trained in any one of the systems will be able to support all of the other installations as well. The inverters are able to be fixed in the field by swapping circuit boards so that the entire inverter does not need to be replaced. GSI solutions are designed to be operational with periodic support for up to 25 years.
Benefits: These systems will improve immensely the quality of health care in the villages as refrigerated vaccines will be available at all times, health care can be provided at night, and health care appliances, such as lab equipment and other diagnostic equipment can be utilized.
Status: HJF officials are expected to finalize a schedule for the implementation of the first five systems during the summer of 2014 which is impacted by limited access during the rainy season. Additionally, GSI is recruiting solar PV installation professionals to install these systems.