Afghan Solar Utility Lights Up the Dark

摘要

In Afghanistan's Bamyan Province, a New Zealand-funded development project is now bringing 24-hour electricity to 2,490 homes and businesses in scattered hamlets with an off-the-grid, 1.05-MW network of solar arrays, batteries, backup generators and transmission lines. The $14.2-million project includes five arrays, mostly perched on rough hillsides about 10 km apart at an elevation of 8,500 ft. It now is in the hands of the Afghan national electricity utility for a 24-month, post-construction run-in maintenance period.