PV power company Canadian Solar announced that with Empowered by Light and in partnership with the GivePower Foundation, it has donated 30kW PV panels with 72 poly cell matrix, CS6X-P, to the first mini-grid systems in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
While the park is home to a large portion of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, Okapis and other rare species — many wildlife populations have been impacted by the Congo Civil War and poaching efforts.
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In recent years, the Virunga park rangers have helped slow down the loss of wildlife — with these new mini-grid systems playing a large role in their protection efforts.
These systems, which were installed in August 2016, provides electricity to the three security sectors within the park — powering security lights, radios and aiding the rangers in their efforts to protect the conservation’s wildlife.
Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and chief executive officer of Canadian Solar, “Protecting endangered species and environment is every corporate citizen's responsibility. As a founder and a CEO of a world leading PV solution provider, I am happy to be able to empower rangers in their endeavour.”
The systems were designed, engineered and installed by the GivePower Foundation — who used Tesla battery technology to facilitate the storage and usage of solar energy at night.