There are not many things we can envy the Burmese at the moment - but there is one thing we can envy: the hours of sunshine! Because instead of a measly 4.5 hours a day, the sun shines for nearly Myanmar almost 9 hours a day. That is twice as long as in Germany. That's almost 3280 hours a year.
Well, why envy that? In fact, sunshine produces the important vitamin D in our body, which has a preventive effect on diabetes, for example. Through the release of the happiness hormone serotonin, it also ensures a better mood. But not only our body can benefit from the sun. As early as the beginning of the 19th century, it became known that the sun's energy could also be used to generate electricity. After many development steps towards operationally applicable solutions, solar energy has become an important part of the energy mix in the western world since the end of the 20th century. Especially in the discussion about renewable energies, there has been a strong increase in Germany in the last 10 years from just under 20 GW of generated solar energy to over 53 GW per year. It is therefore obvious that this much greater potential should also be used in Myanmar . Several goals can be pursued with it: Reducing the high cost of diesel, improving air quality by replacing diesel generators and contributing to the global mitigation of carbon emissions.
It has therefore been a major goal for several years to equip our traveling clinic 'Polli' in Irrawaddy River Doctors in Myanmar with solar panels. Unfortunately, this goal initially proved to be almost impossible to achieve: the panels to be mounted on the roof of the 'Polli' would have been too heavy and the safety of the ship could no longer be guaranteed. For one thing, the weight would have exceeded the load-bearing capacity of the roof and the ship could have collapsed. Secondly, the ship's center of gravity would have changed significantly, meaning that tilting and sinking could not be ruled out. Thanks to the unwavering hope and commitment of our volunteer technical employee Henrik Rausch, the impossible suddenly became possible after all: panels that are significantly lighter than the conventional ones could be found. And even more: through intensive collaboration during his stay in the delta in 2020, a construction was designed together with a Burmese technician, the captain and structural engineer of the ship, which even partially replaces the ship's roof with the substructure of the collectors. This not only solved the problem of load capacity and the center of gravity, but also reduced the overall weight of the ship, which of course has a positive effect on fuel consumption.
With this innovative solution, nothing seemed to stand in the way of implementing the project at the end of 2020. 36 panels were produced, packed and sent on their way to Myanmar . Then came February 2021 and the country was completely turned upside down politically. With the military coup that began on 01.02.2021, all activities were initially frozen. Our parcels were kept under lock and key at customs for months.
But here, too, the staying power paid off: a few weeks ago, the Artemed Stiftung team was able to pick up the packages intact on site. Almost a miracle when you consider what value was in the boxes. Of course, we had already feared that we would not be able to lend a hand and start up the new power supply ourselves due to the still very tense situation in the country. This is where Henrik's intensive cooperation with the technician 2020 paid off, as he was now able to coordinate the implementation on site on his own. The pictures from the Irrawaddy Delta that reached us last week and the installation of the collectors on the 'Polli' therefore not only made us very happy, but also filled us with a little pride.
It is wonderful to see that climate-neutral and cheap energy is now available for the floating clinic. The money saved can be used so much more wisely elsewhere. It is also great to know that as part of this project, a technician could be trained on site who can ensure sustainable operation of the power supply.
