Swiss Partners
EPFL Neuchâtel
http://pvlab.epfl.ch
Nicolas Wyrsc
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Documentation
Final report (in French)
Swiss Contribution
The EPFL’s PV Lab in Neuchâtel has been dealing with the development of photovoltaic (PV) technologies since 1985. Photovoltaic modules development and investigation of their degradation mechanisms are also part of the laboratory’s work areas.
Description
Despite its high potential, solar energy’s implementation in Senegal has progressed very little. Reasons for this include the unsatisfactory reliability of photovoltaic systems, which often contain untested material and/or material of insufficient quality.
Results
In this project, an independent quality and testing centre for photovoltaics (Centre de Test de Systèmes Solaires CT2S) was built in Dakar and inaugurated on June 24 2019. The tests offered will allow for the verification of the quality of PV products. Training for future staff and online training are now in place.
Impacts
The range for testing photovoltaic modules has been expanded for testing other components such as batteries, charge controllers and inverters. A PV system on the roof with storage in batteries provides a large part of the centre’s electricity and serves as a practical example for the training activities. As a result, 98 people have been trained and 3 jobs have been created.
In addition, the CT2S test centre is participating in an European Union Horizon 2020 project.
In the near future, the testing obligation imposed on all solar equipment could come into force in Senegal and would lead to a strong increase in demand for the centre’s activities.