Lagos – 16th February 2021: The COVID-19 pandemic has reemphasized the importance of reliable and accessible power for the healthcare sector. One in four healthcare facilities in Sub-Saharan Africa does not have electricity, and more than 70% of hospitals face unreliable electricity access. Starsight, the leading Commercial and Industrial (“C&I”) solar power provider in West Africa, saw the need for delivering crucial power to healthcare facilities during the pandemic and took action by deploying solar systems for these facilities in record time.
At the start of the pandemic, clinics like the one located in Ikole, Ekiti State, Nigeria, faced the daunting prospect of a surge in demand for healthcare services due to COVID-19. The clinic received less than 8 hours of grid electricity per month. There was a critical need for more power for healthcare workers to care for patients, provide COVID-19 testing, and store medicine at the right temperatures. The Ekiti State government chose the country’s leading solar provider, Starsight Energy, to develop a solution.
Starsight designed, developed, and deployed a solar system at the hospital with great “speed and sense of urgency,” according to Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the Governor of Ekiti State. The system is now providing the hospital with 99% uptime and has reduced its diesel consumption by 15%. Further, the hospital’s overall power costs have dropped by more than 30%. The hospital has been able to conduct COVID-19 testing for thousands of patients without any power interruption.
Similarly, the R-Jolad Hospital outside of Lagos, Nigeria, faced increased demand for healthcare services as the pandemic surged. R-Jolad turned to Starsight Energy to rapidly deploy a solar system to improve the hospital’s energy supply. Starsight deployed a 200kWp system at an R-Jolad location outside of Lagos and is now making plans to supply three additional sites in 2021.
Off-grid solar systems represent a dependable and stable source of clean energy, making them well-adapted to healthcare clinics. Starsight is proud to be playing a role in fighting COVID-19 by supporting healthcare facilities across Nigeria.