Impact and Monitoring

Social & environmental impact

Impact assessment at the heart of our projects

The social and environmental impact of our projects is monitored through a three-step process.

Selection of projects

Projects are selected by Synergie Solaire with particular attention to the following criteria: conformity with the purpose of the endowment fund, response to a clearly identified local need, and the sustainability of the project. During this selection phase, we set social and environmental objectives to be achieved, which will then have to be measured.

Monitoring of the installation

Throughout the infrastructure installation phase, we constantly monitor the situation thanks to our close collaboration with partner NGOs. An on-site visit is carried out by the Synergie Solaire team before or after the project.

Impact

Once the installation is complete, we observe its performance over the long term using our monitoring technologies. The social and environmental impact is assessed in accordance with pre-established objectives and is visible in an impact report.

Impact Stories

Monitoring

Long-term project monitoring is a must

As early as 2016, we decided to set up 360° monitoring of our electrification projects. This begins with the study phase of the project with the definition of objectives, continues in the installation phase with the training of local partners, and continues with performance monitoring- or with a maintenance contract from a local company. This system makes it possible to perpetuate the installations and ensure that the project has a real and lasting impact.

Our experience as an NGO energy company, in permanent contact with the expertise of the European renewable energy sector, allows us to support both decentralised electrification projects and micro-projects over time. We attach great importance to the sustainability of the projects we support. To this end, we support the associations in the maintenance phases, which include the maintenance, control and monitoring of solar installations.

Maintenance drastically increases the service life of installations, in particular, with predictive efforts in up-keep and control. Maintenance includes cleaning solar panels (especially in Sahelian areas where dust stagnates on the panels); battery levels and cable maintenance, and potential shading to block sunlight. It is also essential to check the proper functioning of the installation under the conditions predefined in the specifications: state of the battery chargers and power outputs.

Similarly, monitoring makes it possible to visualize the electrical flows of the installation on an online platform. Thus, it is possible to monitor the electricity production of solar panels and the state of charge of batteries on a daily basis, and therefore to take action very quickly in the event of a malfunction.

The associations encounter technical difficulties related to the equipment but also to the connectivity of the installations (telecom network absent, no Internet).Thanks to the experts around us, it is with great pride and energy that we deploy the innovation and expertise of the renewable energy sector in the field.

For example, the link below illustrates a solar installation monitoring report on the school electrification project with the NGO Bayon School in Cambodia: