New solar microgrid to the rescue in humanitarian crisis

French multinational Schneider Electric has unveiled plug and play mobile solar microgrid solution for ease in any humanitarian emergencies.

The containerised solution dubbed Villaya Emergency can be installed on site within less than half an hour.

It produces a minimum of 10 kilowatts peak of electricity which is enough to power a village, a health centre or individual areas in refugee camps.

“Villaya Emergency can be handled by an on-site operator without any specific training nor requiring any specific maintenance,” said Olivier Jacquet, head of Emergencies, Refugees and Conflicts team at Schneider Electric.

The solution is a system of easy-to-use and easy-to-move photovoltaic panels which are fitted into a standard shipping container for fast, easy transportation or relocation to anywhere worldwide. Mr Jacquet said another value proposition of Villaya Emergency is its robustness.

“We’ve made sure the system can operate in extreme heat and can be installed or dismantled as needed without any damage,” he said.

When humanitarian crises occur, relief operations have had to rely on fossil fuel energy to transport vital supplies including food and medicine.

Schneider noted that it came up with the solution to save the affected communities from relying on dirty, expensive and unsafe fossil fuel energy.

Emergency situations could occur due to the geopolitical context, natural disasters or climate change. With more than 68 million forcibly displaced people in 2017, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has seen an unprecedented number of people uprooted by war, violence or persecution worldwide.