transkei off-grid

The Eastern Cape of South Africa - Beautiful and Rural, and not electrified. As part of the commitment of the South African Government to the development of rural communities, a pilot off-grid renewable energy electrification project was commissioned by the National Energy Regulator in the village of Lucingweni.

The objective of the project was to supply electricity to the 220 houses and enable the development of commercial activities. In order to meet this need, 51kW of PV Solar Panels and 6x 6kW Wind Turbines were installed with a battery bank of approximately 1.8million W at 220VDC.

But there was a problem. After they were let down by their international supplier, the project managers of Shell Solar turned to MLT Drives to supply the 4x MLT Sun-Drive 14kW MPPT Solar Battery Chargers and the 1x MLT Power-Drive 125kVA 3-phase Inverter. Given six weeks to design, build and commission the equipment on site, MLT Drives delivered!

To great jubilation, the lights were turned on in the village on the 1st October 2004. MLT Drives is proud to be associated with the Lucingweni Project.

MLT Sun-Drive Solar Battery Charger

Advanced Features:

• Maximum Power Point Tracking
• High Input Voltage (450VDC)
• LCD with keypad - fully configurable
• Fiber-optic interface to the remote monitoring system.

MLT Power-Drive Inverter

Advanced Features:

• Configurable 3-phase output
• Configurable frequency for controlling AC grid tie equipment
• Numerous protection features
• LCD with keypad - fully configurable
• Fiber-optic interface to the remote monitoring system.

Do you have an off-grid electrification project? With a team of highly skilled and experienced engineers, MLT Drives can deliver turn-key solutions in record breaking time at a cost effective price. Let the MLT Drives team work for you!

View other solar home installations solutions from MLT Drives, your specialist in solar systems.