In an effort to increase the amount of electrification and education in rural Vietnam, Germany-based Antaris Solar partnered with the Goede Foundation. Through the partnership Antaris will supply 90 photovoltaic systems to the province of Quang Ninh in northern Vietnam where roughly 13 percent of the population doesn’t have access to electricity through a power grid.

Through the partnership 10 systems were already installed in the province, which is also home to Halong Bay, said Antaris spokesperson, Dr. Andreas Runkel. “The 90 additional PV systems will be given to private homes to allow families access to modern media and tools for education.”

All the material for the projects has already arrived in Vietnam. “In a next step the off-grid pv systems will be assembled and can then be distributed to their destinations, i.e. to families in the region. Distribution should be completed within the next weeks,” Runkel said.

The PV arrays being donated are also accompanied by a television, DVD player and educational videos in an attempt to promote education in the region. “The donation of PV off-grid systems to Vietnam is part of the Goede Foundation's initiative ‘Solar energy for education’, in which the foundation campaigns for access to up-to-date learning opportunities for people in less developed regions of the world, via television and teaching DVDs driven by power grid-independent photovoltaic systems,” Runkel said.

The Goede Foundation is focused on natural sciences. It supports and leads research projects dealing with issues at the limit of classic physics, particularly related to gravity research, according to Runkel.

Antaris is donating the Vietnamese PV arrays and associated equipment as well as technical advice. “The off-grid PV systems that are used in Vietnam are developed by Antaris Solar, so besides material Antaris also contributes its experience and know-how in PV,” Runkel said.

The Goede Foundation is an international organization, but thus far the partnership is limited to Vietnam. Although Runkel said they may consider supporting other regions in the future.