The insurgency and following unrest that hit Afghanistan has left the country far behind in areas of development. The situation currently demands improvement in infrastructure, power and telecommunications to lay the base for further development. In addition to this, a sound system and infrastructure of communication networks is imperative for the growth and security of Afghanistan which has suffered from incessant damage to life and property in the past decade.
There are generally short-term options for improving access to power to which the private sector can respond, but restoring or establishing large scale networked electricity systems poses formidable problems that require careful long-term planning and institution building.
Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd, India’s leading power back up solution provider, is taking one such step in this direction. Su-Kam Power Systems Ltd in association with the RMA Group has installed solar power systems to support communication towers for developing wireless communication networks within govt. bodies in Afghanistan. The company, under the same project, is also providing power/power back up solutions to various districts and provinces in Afghanistan. Under this project, Su-Kam is installing smaller 2KW power solutions with smaller PCUs and solar panels in 200 districts in the 17 provinces. Till date, under this project, 30 districts have been powered by solar energy solutions.
Mr Dhananjay Sharma, General Manager, Global Business Division, Su-Kam Power systems Ltd. said, “Over 50% of the population in Afghanistan is facing huge power shortage. Su-Kam has over the years, established itself as the market leader of the power/power back up industry in Afghanistan along with setting up an excellent and widespread service network in the country”.
“Su-Kam is the largest provider of solar power solutions on a turnkey basis in Afghanistan. The company, in addition to being the biggest brand in the power back up industry in Afghanistan, has also established 12 service centres across the rough and underdeveloped regions in the country.” he added.
A brief overview: Afghanistan wireless communication Project:
In the rugged, mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, Su-Kam is making its presence felt with the company’s technology and people contributing significantly towards the growth of the communication and power sector.
An official department of the Government of Afghanistan assigned Su-Kam the mandate for installing solar power systems for communication towers across 17 provinces out of 34 in the country. The communication towers were to be powered entirely by solar energy with a diesel generator on site to serve as a standby.
In the first phase of the project, Su-Kam has installed solar power plants to run wireless communication towers in 17 provinces of the country. The company has customized its power solutions to meet the needs of this particular govt. department thereby developing a model project that is first in line for many more projects to come. Of the 17 sites, 15 are designed to deliver a back-up period of 3 days in a row. The remaining 2 sites will deliver a back-up period of 5 days.
Impressed by the services provided by Su-Kam, the company has been given an extension to the project and will venture into 9 more provinces to install solar power & backup solutions in the 2nd phase. The company shall cover 7 additional provinces in the third phase of the project thereby taking the total number of provinces covered to 33 out of the total 34 provinces in Afghanistan.
Implementation & Maintenance
The solar power plants were installed to enable the official dept of the Govt of Afghanistan to carry out internal communication with uninterrupted power supply to the communication towers. Su-Kam was responsible for setting up this entire new facility for providing continuous supply of power solution in addition to back up solution to these communication towers. The facility was set up in a record time of 9 months.
Su-Kam provided the entire solar power solution on a turnkey basis. The company won this coveted contract pitching against global competition.
The Su-Kam team customized the solar project as per the requirement of the govt authorities. There was a 100% customization of the set up to make it a high rating charging system which provided a backup power of 3-5 days in the absence of sunlight. The project is a model project in Afghanistan’s wireless communication sector as the renewable solar energy has been tapped to provide uninterrupted supply of power to communication towers within these areas. Although the initial capital investment was high in the installation of the solar project in these provinces, the operational cost in the future would be minimal thereby fulfilling another requirement of the govt authorities.
Due to shortage of skilled labour, Su-Kam took upon itself the task of training 34 people in the govt department of Afghanistan in installation and maintenance of the project.
Su-Kam has installed the following systems in Afghanistan:
- Solar Panels (monocrystalline) Cells
- PCU, with built-in charge controller
- The heart of the system is Su-Kam’s innovative Power Conditioning Unit (PCU)
Su-Kam Power Conditioning Unit (PCU)Su-Kam has developed the PCU through its own in-house R&D and it has proved to be an invaluable piece of hardware for the solar power movement. The PCU is an integrated system consisting of a solar charge controller, inverter and grid charger. It offers the option of charging the battery bank either through solar energy or the electricity grid or the diesel generator.
The PCU constantly monitors the battery voltage, solar power output and the electric load. Over a period of sustained power usage, when the battery voltage falls below a pre-set level, the PCU will automatically transfer the load to the grid or the diesel generator. It will also charge the battery bank through the in-built grid charger. Once the batteries are charged to the pre-set level, the PCU cuts off the system from the grid or diesel generator and resumes feeding the load from the bank. Simultaneously, it returns to charging the battery bank from the available solar power.
The PCU is designed to always give preference to solar power and will use power from the grid or the diesel generator only when the available solar power or battery charge is insufficient to meet the load requirement.
For remote locations like the communication towers of Afghanistan, Su-Kam technology is providing the ideal solution in an area of critical national importance.
Challenges Faced
The war torn areas of Afghanistan coupled with the harsh and rugged terrains posed huge challenges to the Su-Kam team at work in these sites. The logistical challenges faced in transporting raw materials were immense. The other hostile forces were the various insurgency hit areas which hindered easy movement and left fewer options for routes etc. Some provinces like Kandahar, Khost, a mountainous region near Afghanistan’s border and Bamiyan proved to be the most challenging due to the treacherous and dangerous mountainous terrains. Shortage of skilled labour and trained personnel in both the government and the private sector was another challenge faced.
Benefits
Uninterrupted solar power supply to telecom towers used for communication within govt. departments across 17 provinces
- 100% customized solar power solution as per the requirement of the govt authorities
- Power back up solution of 3 – 5 days
- Low operational cost of these facilities
- Successful implementation of the project despite harsh terrains, insurgency hit areas and logistical challenges
- 34 people from the govt dept of Afghanistan trained by Su-Kam to handle the maintenance of the facility
