Current News

February was an exciting month for Sunlabob as it took the African market by storm by winning 3 United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) contracts in Sierra Leone, Mozambique and Liberia.

For Sierra Leone, Sunlabob was contracted to supply and install 3 Solar Power Plant Systems (20 KW and 16 KW) to provide electricity supply to Industrial Growth Centres that have been established to promote agric-entrepreneurship development for rural youth, men and women.

Over in Mozambique, Sunlabob is to supply and provide related services for 4 Solar Power Plant Systems (8KW, 6KW and 3KW), communications and computer equipment for remote border posts so as to improve the efficiency of customs operations.

For the Liberian project, Sunlabob was contracted to supply and install 3 Solar Power Plant Systems (20 KW, 10 KW and 5 KW) to provide electricity supply to two different locations in Ganta Town, and the Rubber Science Technology Institute at Harper. The objective of the project is to strengthen the socio-economic resilience of vulnerable communities through the development of productive skills of youths, crucial in gaining access to employment in local commerce sectors.

In Oct 2011, Sunlabob successfully completed the installation and implementation of clean water solutions and community development to villages in Savannakhet Province, Laos, as part of a water project developed by MMG Sepon.

In 2010, MMG Sepon undertook detailed research of community development needs based on results of regular household survey work. The research identified 12 villages in the priority development area requiring community development support, and better water quality and sanitation as a priority need. The water resources for these villages were poor; suffering from scarcities and/or quality concerns in the dry season, silting in the wet season and/or being located too far away from the villagers to be collected by hand.

800 million people in the Asia-Pacific region do not have access to electricity and almost 2 billion rely on the traditional use of biomass for cooking.

While some countries are nearly 100% electrified, others, including Laos, face economic, geographic and demographic obstacles to electrification. The poor often do not generate cash surpluses, limiting their purchasing power and opportunities to shift to modern energy services. As a result, they have to spend more of their income and time locating and obtaining energy.

Between 2009 and 2011, the United Nations Development Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (UNDP APRC) reviewed 17 energy access programmes and projects in the region implemented by various development agencies and the private sector, as part of its work with country partners to address energy poverty issues.

These projects were documented as case studies and the case study on Sunlabob’s Solar Lanterns Rental System documents the experience of a private company implementing rechargeable solar lanterns solutions to off-grid households in rural Laos as an alternative to the use of diesel. The case study identifies key characteristics that have helped poor households and communities gain access to modern energy services, and to derive valuable lessons for future energy access activities.

To view or download the case study, please click here.

With its source in Tibet, the Mekong River runs through six Southeast Asian countries - China, Burma, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong River, already heavily dammed, is under a severe threat as the governments of several South East Asian countries are planning to build big hydropower dams on its lower mainstream.

Edward Allen, the Technical Programme Coordinator at the Lao Institute of Renewable Energy (LIRE) and Technical Advisor at Sunlabob, recently had an article about how saving energy in turn leads to pulling the Mekong River from the many challenges it faces, published in the Bangkok Post.

From Nov till Dec 2011, Sunlabob, in collaboration with a local partner in Cambodia, successfully supplied and installed 3900 Solar Home Systems to 28 villages across Cambodia.

The project, to install 12,000 Solar Home Systems across more than 400 villages in Cambodia by 2012, is Cambodia’s biggest solar power initiative to date and the result of a World Bank financed contract that Sunlabob had won in Mar 2011.

Though a large installation, the project still leaves almost 40 per cent of the nation off the electricity grid, but officials say the solar project is a way to reach these areas.

Compared to its neigbours, Cambodia’s solar-energy potential is huge as there are few other alternative energy options.

Read more about the ground-breaking project in this Phnom Penh Post article.

In Nov 2011, Sunlabob installed a Solar Water Pump System for a district health post in M.Samakisai, Attapeu province. The water pump is extremely versatile, being able to pump water from as deep as 50 metres into the borehole, and being able to pump 3000 litres of water per day.

The purpose of the project, funded by The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), is to provide a constant supply of water to the health post, where it is used mainly for cleaning health equipment.

In Dec 2011, Sunlabob won a national tender for an Asian Development Bank (ADB) funded contract, handled locally by the Ministry of Education and Sports, Department of Higher Education, to supply and install electrical supply material at Champasak University in Southern Laos.

This installation will allow the university to generate more electricity to power equipment and lighting to accommodate its growing number of staff and students.

This is not the first time Sunlabob has been contracted to provide services for an ADB related project.