Solar off-grid supplier Winch Energy has just won the International Environmental Impact Award at the British Expertise International Awards 2020. The company is being honored for a solar off-grid project that has brought electricity to 40,000 people in rural Sierra Leone.
Winch Energy is beginning to reap the benefits of its work in Sierra Leone. The London (UK) based company has just been awarded the International Environmental Impact Award at the British Expertise International Awards 2020 held on October 21st, 2020. Winch Energy was awarded for its off-grids project in rural Sierra Leone.
In this West African country, the British company has installed off-grid solar systems with battery storage capacity in 24 villages in the districts of Koinadugu, Bombali and Tonkolili, located in the north of Sierra Leone. These installations feed into small distribution grids that provide access to electricity to 40,000 people as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the villages concerned.
According to Winch Energy, the project was co-financed with the UK Department for International Development – now replaced by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office; to provide sustainable green energy to people who have no access to electricity or are poorly served by the national electricity grid.
Solar-powered health care
We are now one of Sierra Leone’s largest electricity providers, despite the geographical challenges of working in remote areas and the additional difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We are now one of the largest electricity providers in Sierra Leone, despite the geographical challenges of working in remote areas and the additional difficulties of the Covid-19 pandemic. The new electricity provider is a major player in the country’s energy sector. We are looking to expand our services to many more villages. By 2021, we plan to connect an additional 10,000 people to smart, renewable energy in the country,” said Nicholas Wrigley, Winch Energy’s Chief Executive Officer.
In addition to the International Environmental Impact Award, Winch Energy was also shortlisted in the “International Environmental Impact” category at the British Expertise International Awards 2020. These awards reflect the solutions offered by the company, which was founded in 2016. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Africa, the off-grid provider offered containerized, solar-powered clinics. These easy-to-deploy solutions are expected to help improve healthcare in hard-to-reach areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
Jean Marie Takouleu
