Conservation Lower Zambezi is a wildlife protection organization located in southeastern Zambia, right on the edge of Lower Zambezi National Park. They run a variety of programs with the local wildlife authority (DNPW) to prevent poaching of the native elephants, big cats and more. A large component of this effort is supporting patrol teams that continuously scout the park on ten day missions. In 2018, they supported over 11,000 man-days (that’s 30 people on patrol a day!).
Anti-poaching patrol team sets out his Arc 20W to charge.
The patrol teams rely on electronics for communication and for tracking and logging their efforts. Their routes are stored in a database along with records of various events including identifying signs of poachers or interactions with poachers. To keep the teams powered up, Voltaic Systems recently provided the patrol teams with our Arc 20W Kits. The systems are used to charge GPS units, Motorola walkie-talkies and smartphones.
The V88 battery is used to charge Motorola walkie talkie and AA batteries.
Arc 20W getting sun on the Lower Zambezi River.
Off-grid Solar Installation
Conservation Lower Zambezi runs off the grid. Solar power generated by a large scale array as well as several smaller systems power lighting, fans, laptops and all the communications equipment.
Solar panel installation at Conservation Lower Zambezi
Power is stored in lead acid batteries. Again, there is a large bank of batteries, here a batch of Trojan IND13-6V, but smaller systems for redundancy on some of the offices and tents.
Array of lead acid batteries used to power camp.
The camp uses a wide range of energy conservation techniques including lower power LED bulbs and solar hot water heaters.
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