Solar lights can save millions

SOLAR-POWERED streetlights, which will save municipalities large sums of money, are being installed in Namibia.

The first of these are set to be handed over to the Okahandja Town Council tomorrow. A new company, Solar Lighting & Appliance Company, which is a joint venture between Namibians and three Zimbabwean experts in solar energy, has already set up a small assembly plant in Windhoek to manufacture solar streetlights.The solar lighting elements are imported from renowned US solar manufacturer Solar Outdoor Lighting (SOL) Inc and the metal lamp bodies and plastic light covers from South Africa.Chief Executive Officer Selias Soko said the municipalities of Rehoboth and Walvis Bay are also very keen on the new power-saving streetlights.Soko, who formerly worked for SOL Inc in Zimbabwe and then set up his own solar company, said all traffic lights in the Zimbabwean capital Harare are powered by solar panels.”Namibia has the highest sun radiation in southern Africa, which lends itself perfectly to the use of solar energy,” Soko told The Namibian yesterday.”The streetlights we are setting up at Okahandja on the western bypass are a pilot project.The solar ‘bulbs’ in those street lights will last at least five years and are maintenance free,” Soko added.”Solar streetlights can also help prevent crimes in poorly lit areas like informal settlements and townships.”According to lawyer Dirk Conradie, who is the board chairman of Solar Lighting, streetlights powered by the sun would considerably decrease electricity bills for local authorities.”Especially small village councils like Otavi or Gibeon and towns like Usakos or Karibib would save thousands of dollars on electricity, which could be used for other municipal necessities,” he told The Namibian.The company has already made a presentation to the Minister of Local, Regional Government and Housing and met with President Hifikepunye Pohamba at State House.It offers solar lighting for billboards, traffic signs and aviation lights for airports.In the health sector it provides solar-powered refrigeration units that can be used to keep vaccines and other medicines cold in line with the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).A new company, Solar Lighting & Appliance Company, which is a joint venture between Namibians and three Zimbabwean experts in solar energy, has already set up a small assembly plant in Windhoek to manufacture solar streetlights.The solar lighting elements are imported from renowned US solar manufacturer Solar Outdoor Lighting (SOL) Inc and the metal lamp bodies and plastic light covers from South Africa.Chief Executive Officer Selias Soko said the municipalities of Rehoboth and Walvis Bay are also very keen on the new power-saving streetlights.Soko, who formerly worked for SOL Inc in Zimbabwe and then set up his own solar company, said all traffic lights in the Zimbabwean capital Harare are powered by solar panels.”Namibia has the highest sun radiation in southern Africa, which lends itself perfectly to the use of solar energy,” Soko told The Namibian yesterday.”The streetlights we are setting up at Okahandja on the western bypass are a pilot project.The solar ‘bulbs’ in those street lights will last at least five years and are maintenance free,” Soko added.”Solar streetlights can also help prevent crimes in poorly lit areas like informal settlements and townships.”According to lawyer Dirk Conradie, who is the board chairman of Solar Lighting, streetlights powered by the sun would considerably decrease electricity bills for local authorities.”Especially small village councils like Otavi or Gibeon and towns like Usakos or Karibib would save thousands of dollars on electricity, which could be used for other municipal necessities,” he told The Namibian.The company has already made a presentation to the Minister of Local, Regional Government and Housing and met with President Hifikepunye Pohamba at State House.It offers solar lighting for billboards, traffic signs and aviation lights for airports.In the health sector it provides solar-powered refrigeration units that can be used to keep vaccines and other medicines cold in line with the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).