Sumaman Senior High School’s first collaboration with EWB-UMCP centers on providing a dependable source of electricity to the school. The school suffers blackouts averaging six to ten hours per day, occasionally reaching a full 24 hours. The reliability of the grid is spotty in general, but worsens in the dry season when Lake Volta, from which Ghana generates much of its electricity through hydropower, reaches low water levels. As a result, students can rarely study at night, leading to decreased academic performance.
After the assessment trip, the travel team shared the results with the rest of the project team and began design work. The team first examined different potential sources of energy, including a generator, a battery bank, solar power, and wind power. After consulting the community, examining these sources, and evaluating them according to set criteria, the team determined that solar power would best fit the community’s energy needs.
Once the alternatives analysis was completed, work began on the actual design of the solar power system. The project consisted of a solar panel array and battery bank powering two classroom blocks so students could study at night. Subgroups designed a battery rack, roof reinforcement, panel mounting, and the electrical system itself. Together with professional mentors, the team decided on developing a grid-zero solar power system, a design that would be primarily powered by the sun but would use the existing electrical grid to charge the batteries when power dipped below a certain level.
In August 2015, EWB-UMCP sent a team of five students and one mentor to implement the first phase of the project. The team sourced materials, met with in-country contacts, and began construction. The team was welcomed graciously with a large ceremony with chiefs, elders, and community members. After the ceremony, the team began building. Working alongside community members, the team built a battery rack designed to withstand thousands of pounds, secured the purlin-truss connections in the roof by wrapping tie-wire around them, and performed a test-build of the solar panel mounting rack.
EWB-UMCP traveled back to Suma Ahenkro in January 2016 to continue implementation of the solar power system as well as to gather data for a water supply project. The team first sourced more materials in the capital and in the community. Using these items, and materials purchased on the last trip, the team mounted solar panel racking to the roof and installed 12 solar panels on the racking. EWB-UMCP then ran wiring through PVC underneath the panels to an electrical shed near the side of the school. While one team was doing the wiring, another group mounted charge controllers and breakers to a control board in the shed. By the end of the trip, the classroom block was fitted with 12 solar panels.
The traveled again in January 2019 to install a photovoltaic system for Sumaman Senior High School. Over the past five years, EWB-UMD has powered half of the campus with solar power and built a water distribution system that supplies clean and reliable water to the more than 1000 students and staff.
The previous solar project has been a tremendous success, enabling more students to attend the school than expected. To accommodate for this growth, EWB-UMD installed a solar powered system to power Sumaman’s two-story classroom building. Now students will be able to study at night without concern about constant electrical outages. EWB-UMD hopes that these projects will ultimately result in a higher percentage of students attending tertiary institutions.
None of these projects could have been possible without the support from EWB-UMD’s sponsor, the Weissberg Foundation, the partner NGO, Changing Lives Together, the amazing faculty at Sumaman High school, and the great student teams and mentors. EWB-UMD would like to thank them for all of their generous contributions.
