Canadian Solar Donated Solar Panels to the Mini-Grid System in Congo’s Virunga National Park

Canadian Solar Inc., one of the world’s largest solar power companies, recently announced that working together with Empowered by Light, in partnership with the GivePower Foundation, it has donated 30 kW solar panels with 72 poly cell matrix, CS6X-P, to the first mini-grid systems in Virunga National Park — installed in August 2016.

Located in the Eastern regions of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Virunga National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. Virunga National Park is home to a large portion of the world’s endangered mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, Okapis, and other rare species. In recent years, many wildlife populations have been damaged by the Congo Civil War and relentless poaching efforts. Due to the efforts by the Virunga park rangers, these numbers have shown signs of reversal, and Canadian Solar is proud to be part of the continued protection efforts.

“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,” commented by Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar.

This mini-grid PV system provides electricity to the three security sectors within the conservation, powering security lights, radios, and helping enhance the ranger’s ability to protect the park’s wildlife, even in remote areas at night.

Contributors to be mentioned are the followings: the Empowered by Light, a non-profit organization that uses renewable energy to improve lives and the environment, the GivePower Foundation, which designed, engineered and installed the solar mini-grids using Tesla battery technology to facilitate the storage and usage of solar energy at night. Goal Zero provided portable solar power systems for the Virunga rangers to use in the field, Conergy provided virtual-reality storytelling for the project, and the Wallace Global Fund provided additional funding.