Solar Power for Mulanje Mission Hospital
Report on the installation of a Solar Photovoltaic System at a hospital in
Southern Malawi
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Picture kindly supplied by Nathalie Bertrams
http://www.crossingborders.info/
Project Promoters
Report prepared by:
John Walsh
Solar Without Frontiers, e Business Park, Bowl Road, Macroom, Co. Cork, Ireland Tel: +353 026-21014
info@solarwithoutfrontiers.com
www.solarwithoutfrontiers.com
Intro
This report presents an installation of a solar PV array in Mulange, Malawi. The project was
undertaken by Solar Without Frontiers (SWF) in co-operation with Mulanje Mission Hospital
and with primary funding from Wilde Ganzen and Electric Ireland. Solar Without Frontiers is a
non-profit organisation, set up by a group of engaged energy consultants in Co. Cork, Ireland.
Its aim is to bring solar energy to disadvantaged communities in Africa.
Mulanje Mission Hospital (MMH) is located 50km from Malawi’s second City Blantyre. Africa’s
third highest mountain, Mount Mulanje, serves as a beautiful backdrop to the facility. The
hospital provides public health and primary care services to about 80,000 people living in 72
villages in the local catchment area of Mulanje. Patients from across Mulanje district and as far
away as Mozambique visit MMH for outpatient, inpatient and HIV/AIDS services.
Google map image of MMH location in Southern Malawi
There is one hydro power plant on the River Shire operated by national utility ESCOM,
supplying Malawi with all its electricity. This plant is outdated and is prone to weekly failures
resulting in power cuts in the country for days at a time. Climate change has also affected the
rainy season in Malawi, which of course exacerbates the problem. This is a calamitous situation
for an under-resourced and overstretched hospital. The power cuts invariably results in the
mortality rate going up.
Dr Ruth Shakespeare & her team
The primary objective of the project was to install a reliable source of power to the hospital.
Malawi has an abundant solar resource and because of the lack of moving parts, a solar PV
system is very robust and requires little maintenance. In consultation with MMH medical
Director Dr. Ruth Shakespeare, the SWF team designed a system that would cater for three
priority electrical loads within the facility namely the children’s ward, the maternity ward and
the corridor lighting. The system would reduce the dependence on the grid, prioritize solar
energy and thus build in a stable source of power for the critical hospital circuits including
battery backup.
Google map image of hospital and proposed location of the solar panels
The solar array consists of 30 poly-crystalline modules (REC Peak Energy Series 250 W) and has
a total capacity of 7.5 kW peak, roof mounted and North facing!! The Direct Current (DC)
produced by the array is converted to Alternating Current (AC) by the inverter (SMA Sunny Mini
Central 7000HV). This system is AC coupled to an SMA Sunny Back-up 5000 via the Sunny Backup’s automatic switchbox. The Sunny Back-up 5000 is a bidirectional inverter and charger i.e. it
converts AC current from the solar PV and\or the grid into DC current to charge the batteries
(48V-681AH Rolls Leads Acid), and in the event of grid failure it converts the DC stored in the
batteries back into AC to power the connected loads. See also single-line diagram (appendix 1)
of the grid connected solar PV system with battery backup installed at Mulanje.
When the charge of the batteries drops significantly and can no longer continue to supply the
loads to the hospital, the Sunny Island brings on the grid via the automatic switch box and
meets demand as well as bringing the state of charge back to 100%.
The solar equipment had arrived in Mulanje prior to our arrival. The SWF team had asked the
electricians in Mulange to ensure that the equipment had not been damaged during carriage.
Any damage would have altered our plans, so it was important that everything was inspected
thoroughly. Once we got word back that everything was intact, we booked flights for 3 of the
team. On February 16th 2013, Fritz Raake and John Walsh travelled from Cork to London where
they met Anthony Brennan, all three volunteers at Solar Without Frontiers. We then all flew
from London to Lilongwe, Malawi via Addis Abba, Ethiopia. We were welcomed at Lilongwe
Airport by John Munthali, hospital administrator in MMH, where we proceeded to make the 5
hour arduous drive to Mulanje. The bumpiness of the back seat of the converted hospital 4X4
was tempered by the beautiful and surprising countryside we drove through en route.
We were welcomed by hospital director Dr. Ruth Shakespeare,
and Rick Coe, a marine engineer originally from Zimbabwe and a
now veteran of SWF African projects from his work in Mvimwa,
Tanzania (see www.solarwithoutfrontiers.com for details). Ruth
provided the team with a delicious “welcome to Malawi” meal.
A special ‘Thank You’ to Martha, the housekeeper at MMH 6
who kept us fed & watered for the 2 weeks.
On Monday morning the 18th of February,
Ruth took the team on a quick tour of the
hospital. The hospital is an extremely clean
facility, but very small when you consider
the catchment population it has to serve.
The team then proceeded to survey the
buildings where the panels and equipment
would be located. The roof was structurally
sound and the MMH contractors had
erected an impressive wooden scaffold to
facilitate the moving up and down of
equipment.
The battery/control room had just been
partitioned and so the plaster was still
wet. The team decided to wait until works
had substantially finished before we
began.
The team was not prepared initially for the
temperatures we experienced. While the
air temps were at a bearable 30 degrees, it
was probably another 6-7 degrees on the
roof, so we waited to erect our first rail
later on in the evening.
L to R: Anthony, John, Rick & Fritz enjoying the view
Picture by Nathalie Bertrams
SWF team with the MMH electricians fixing the panels into
the rails
During the two weeks, the team were ably assisted by the MMH electricians particularly Wilson
Kachekuwa. We tried to maximize the training opportunities for the technical staff onsite. We
found the MMH electricians and contractors quite knowledgeable and eager to learn. They
were also trained on ongoing maintenance work.
After day 2, the remaining rails are laid down. The roof was uneven in areas, which made fitting
the panels quite difficult. The REC panels were also not square, so it proved quite a task to fit
the panels between the rails and alongside each other. Perseverance and grit was the only
solution to this problem. The panels are finally fitted after day 5.
The batteries are moved from the pallet to the battery room. Each battery weighs 145 kg. It
takes 4 men to move one battery. Thankfully MMH were able to provide us with some
manpower.
Attention switched to the control room once the panels had been installed. The team was
gratified to have the expertise and knowledge of Anthony Brennan. Anthony’s company (Wind
& Sun) has supplied the equipment and he had a detailed understanding of all the components.
The electrical installation was to the best safety and electrical standards.
On Saturday, the SWF team was guests of Ken
Rice where we had a beautiful barbecue. Ken is
the financial controller of a tea company based
in Malawi. Ken also introduced us to Zit. Zit is a
bush baby which is a small, nocturnal primate
native to continental Africa, and make up the
family Galagidae (also sometimes called
Galagonidae). These beautiful creatures have
extraordinary jumping abilities and can jump
over 2m. This one above seems to have taken
a shine to Fritz!!
50 m2 PV Array with Mt. Mulanje
looming in the background
Dr Shakespeare had to improve the river
crossing
Fritz and John visited a wildlife reserve park on Sunday – 4 hours drive from the hospital. We
were able to see the mighty River Shire that provides the hydropower for the country’s one
electricity plant. With the effect of climate change taking place, the rainy season is not as
predictable as it once was. Anecdotally, crops have failed, the yields are not as plentiful and the
power outages more frequent. This reality reinforced our belief that this project would surely
improve the status of power supply at the hospital immeasurably.
Commissioned equipment in the battery room L to R: SMA Sunny Back-up, automatic switch box, manual
changeover switch, SMA SMC 7000
Picture by Nathalie Bertrams
The team worked right up to the penultimate day. On Thursday 6:00pm Central African time,
the system went live. The team would have
liked more time to properly test and
commission the system but unfortunately we
had a plane to catch the next morning. The
team also managed to install a remote system
monitoring web-box which is a sophisticated
communications device relaying all aspects of
the PV plant. Any feed back on initial results?
The team were also honored at the opening
ceremony of the plant presided over by local
dignitaries. The local pastor spoke and gave us
his blessing, Ruth spoke of her appreciation and John conveyed the appreciation and gratitude
to all the team at MMH. The event was a formal affair, but thankfully the African drums, the
dancers and Fritz dancing provided a nice counterbalance to the proceedings.
The Benefits of the Solar System in Mulanje:
Solar production at the MMH from April 1st to April 19th
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Power cuts are almost a daily occurrence at MMH, resulting in an increase in the
mortality rate. The main objective of this project is that all critical equipment like the
oxygenators are now prioritized on solar and backed up by the batteries.
MMH will be an exemplar project to the local district of Mulanje and Malawi. SWF
liaised with some installers during our stay and we explained the system in detail and
hopefully this will spurn local hospitals and schools to use the technology and see the
wonderful benefits that will accrue to MMH.
The LED corridor lights will improve lighting between the various buildings at MMH. The
corridors are external with a roof cover and are frequently used at night to move
patients.
The solar PV array should displace most of the electricity supply for the three priority
areas. The resulting savings can be diverted to pay for medicines and other critical
medical supplies.
For the Solar Team:
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A key outcome was the hands-on training of the SWF team. Anthony’s firsthand
knowledge was of great benefit to the Team. These skills can be built upon for future
SWF projects.
As well as power outages, water outages are also very frequent. The quality and
quantity of water supply in the vicinity of the hospital was not to OECD standards. Solar
powered water pumps utilizing the abundance of fresh groundwater would be of
benefit to Malawi and other African countries.
The kind and warm welcome we received from Dr. Ruth Shakespeare, the MMH staff
and locals was fantastic and we will treasure these memories.
Appendix 1: MMH Schematic