RenewABLE Against Covid
PRESENTATION of “RenewABLE Against Covid” Results:
under the Lockdown the “Grand Challenges” Sapienza Engineering Students are realizing PV Plant for Health Cenetres in Africa.
Under the umbrella of the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, Sapienza Engineering Student started the project "Renew-ABLE against COVID" in March, during the lockdown, they gathered Italian and African Students’ as well as Professionals’ Associations creating a vibrant online community of researchers, technicians and students to give a practical help to rural Communities in East Africa.
The initiative has supported the construction of photovoltaic plants, with the ultimate objective of guaranteeing a supply of electricity to health centres for the urgent treatment of COVID.
Sapienza Engineering Students launched "Renew-ABLE against COVID" because of the new needs of an accessible and reliable source of energy where national electricity grids are unable to provide an adequate service in quantity and quality. The "Renew-ABLE against COVID" project has identified 12 health centres in Kenya, whose ordinary activities have been hampered by multiple daily power outages.
Among these 12 centres, the Students selected the Nchiru Health Centre, located in the Meru region of eastern Kenya, and managed by the ANA Association, one of the DREAM (Disease Relief through Excellence and Advanced Means) health centres, as a pilot, because they visited Meru in January 2020 within their Field Study Abroad.
The centre is one of the most important in the surrounding area to serve the community in the prevention and treatment of the COVID Virus. The community of S. Egidio, together with Sapienza Students and Elettrici Senza Frontiere (ESF), wants to promote health and to fight COVID, HIV, and malnutrition. The work consists of the repowering of the 5 kWp hybrid photovoltaic plant to reach a total power of 10 kWp, providing additional 20 kWh battery pack.
Sapienza Engineering Faculty, through the international research group “Field Study for Mini Grid Optimization” (FS4MGO) and Tecnologie Solidali Onlus, made the data analysys while some Professors provided the training within the Micro Grid Academy (MGA) of RES4Africa Foundation.
This project have been crucial for the design and realization of the Energy System.
S.Egidio Community and AINA onlus from Kenya, thanked the MGA Alumni, as well as Sapienza Students for working within in the crucial role of design and empower the Nchiru Health Centre with the new photovoltaic plant.
