The Western Cape Education Department`s (WCED) Khanya Project has officially announced the province`s first solar-powered school computer laboratory, at Bernadino Heights Secondary School, in Kraaifontein.
Khanya is the WCED`s lead agency for ICT implementation in the province`s schools. The lab is a pilot project to reduce schools` exposure to the national grid and harness naturally available sunlight to cut the cost of running a computer lab at financially pressed schools.
Khanya`s implementation manager, Andre Pietersen, says solar-powered labs have the potential to take IT to rural schools "where power and energy supply is often problematic, if not non-existent".
He says the solar lab has been operating successfully for three months with minimal problems.
Pietersen says the focus of the pilot is not on finding a cheap solution, but rather on determining that solar energy could be used to power a Khanya laboratory. "The next phase for Khanya will be to concentrate on a more affordable model," he says.
The installation of the project - the solar part, as well as the infrastructure and technology upgrades - was completed in a month.
Pietersen says the lab was due for a hardware upgrade and was fitted with low-power LCD screens and virtual desktops that reduced power consumption to about a quarter of that previously required.
He adds the solar power system generates 18 units in winter and 30 in summer - about enough for one-and-a-half households.
Security also received special attention, with the solar panels placed out of direct view of the road to prevent vandalism and all cables buried underground to prevent cable theft.
Khanya has, to date, deployed 22 084 computers and associated IT, at 919 schools in the Western Cape, and is readying a further 177. It further supports 14 135 PCs acquired by the schools themselves. It has also taught 21 598 teachers in IT. About 727 049 children benefit from the project.
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