Working together to provide essential, sustainable and reliable power to our partner hospital in Haiti.
Why we’re working together
Haiti has some of the highest energy costs in the world. With very few resources and an unreliable power grid, in 2019 less than 45% of the total population have access to domestic electricity - something most of us would consider a basic necessity. Of the 9 million people in the Caribbean without electricity, more than 7 million live in Haiti.
A reliable power supply is a fundamental requirement for any hospital. HCBH struggled with unreliable grid power which can limit the ability to provide life-saving care to those in need, whether in our neonatal unit for premature babies or our emergency surgeries.
Partnership Start Date: 2017
Country of impact: Haiti
Lives impacted: 20,000+
What we’re doing
In recent years, thanks to our friends at Off Grid Energy, we have been able to deliver significant upgrades to the hospital’s solar electrical system to run basic services, such as lights and general appliances, as well as air-conditioning and medical apparatus. The system is now as energy efficient as possible, using power from the grid when it was available and from renewable energy sources where possible and providing numerous benefits:
- Uninterrupted Power Supply. The system now ensures uninterrupted power supply to the hospital vital for the running of equipment and providing light during the hours of darkness when emergency operations are needed to save lives. When grid power is available, it is utilised. In the event of a grid failure, or when power demand is high or if the batteries need to re-charge.
- Sustainable Energy. With the abundance of sunshine in Haiti, solar panels utilise clean energy.
- Environmental Impact. With the reduction of the generator burning diesel, CO2e emissions are vastly lowered helping both the environment but also the patients.
- Reduced Maintenance Costs. With the battery system requiring virtually no maintenance and a significant reduction in generator running hours, the costs for maintenance are significantly lowered.
- Noise Pollution. By reducing the running hours of the generator and utilising the silent battery power at night, the noise pollution in the hospital is eliminated at night allowing patients to rest.
We are continuing to work towards securing another upgrade to the power grid at HCBH, with the goal of becoming 100% self-sustainable in the near future.
