Dutch multinational electronics company, Philips, has partnered with the Kenyan Urban Roads Authority to install solar-powered LED street lighting in Nairobi. Philips says that, if implemented on a wide scale across the country, the project has the potential to generate up to 100 per cent energy savings. The main goal of the project will be to highlight the benefits of sustainable energy sources and alternatives to expensive, less efficient traditional lighting.
The key to what Philips calls as “the most reliable, efficient and cost effective solar powered road lighting solution” lies in combining high brightness LEDs with patented optics and an intelligent controller. Philips said that this will ensure that the maximum amount of power is transferred from the solar panels to the batteries. High energy efficiency also means that the cost and size of the batteries can be reduced by as much as 50 percent compared to other standard solutions being offered in the market today.
The pilot project was launched during the 40th Anniversary of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi. This will be the first of its kind in East Africa. “A new generation of Solar powered LED road and area lighting has the potential to transform life throughout Africa at a social and economic level” says Andre Dehmel, Philips lighting General Manager Africa. “We are very proud to be supplying an example of this to the road outside the UNEP headquarters, today.”