Greentech Lead Africa: Viridian Energy, a provider of
green retail energy, has partnered with World Joy and Empower Playgrounds to
provide sustainable energy to the Atiwa District.
Covering specifically the villages of Asonafo, Abrenya
and Wekpeti, in Ghana, West Africa, this project is part of Viridian’s seven
year initiative, 7 Continents in 7 Years program.
Viridian has installed solar panels on
schools, health posts and community libraries in the rural villages. In the
villages of Abrenya and Wepeti, Viridian installed solar panels that enabled
the schools to implement lantern checkout systems, giving students an
opportunity to study by lamplight in the comfort of their own home.
Viridian also installed merry-go-rounds on the school
playgrounds that generate electricity for the schools in the villages of
Abrenya and Wepeti.
“What a remarkable and joyful thing it was, to witness
light in a home after dark where none had existed before,” said Cami Boehme,
Viridian VP of Marketing and Brand Communications.
In Asonafo, Viridian installed solar panels on the
community library and the new health post. The solar panels allow the health
post to have consistently running refrigerators to store life-saving
pharmaceuticals which were previously accessible in urban pharmacies long
distances away.
“Year two of our 7 Continents in 7 Years initiative was
eye-opening. After installing the solar panels and speaking with the people in
the villages in which we worked, we came to that the panels not only provided
sustainable energy to a remote community, but access to reliable, sustainable
power transformed the residents’ lives and reshaped their futures,” said
Michael Fallquist, founder and CEO of Viridian. Â
To ensure that the project is sustainable, Viridian
associates trained the residents on how to maintain the new equipment. In
addition, World Joy will periodically visit the villages to help maintain the
solar panels.
Viridian Energy’s 7 Continents in 7 years initiative is
to undertake a major sustainability project on each of the seven continents
over a period of seven years, and serves as the global component of the
company’s sustainability initiative, Local Change, Global Impact.
Viridian Energy recently completed
the inaugural sustainability project the Viridian Foundation, to foster global
sustainability and extend Viridian’s global efforts beyond the scope of its
existing sustainability initiatives.
editor@greentechlead.com