Oct. 28 – Converting military technology into humanitarian aid is possible; and an Italian proposal makes it a solid reality. A first portable solar power station has been donated to the Faculty of Medicine of the University Nagui-Abrogoua in Abidjan, in the most populous city (and former capital) of Côte d’Ivoire. The Solar Station K10 contains all the tools needed to run the plant itself, and comes with fully charged batteries. Once placed, the station opens as if it were a “robot transformer”. Cables then connect the plant to the facilities in dire need of electricity, whether they are hospital wards, homes or schools. This energy “box” is 7.5mx2m and is thus easy to manage, move, and operate. Once the emergency is over, it can be moved and placed in another area. Solar Station K10 was born from the enlightened ideas of a group of Italian technicians, engineers and architects who decided to revise the way military technology is used. Today, high-risk areas incluse West Africa, an area hit hard by the Ebola epidemic that suffers greatly from the lack of funds and adequate facilities to deal with the crisis. The idea changes the way we think aid, bringing directly to the villages in need of electricity for hospitals, water wells, and dewatering pumps a smallm self-sufficient power plant that is also easy to carry. As small as a cargo container, Solar Station K10 inside contains the technology of solar panels. The station was dubbed “the energy box” during the inauguration in Abidjan with the Ministers of Health of the main West African countries. (red)
