The learners at Filadelfia Secondary School will have some of their suffering taken away when load shedding and unscheduled power cuts occur, thanks to Nissan’s innovative Energy Solution.

The school is located in Pretoria and caters to disabled students and students with other needs. Nissan’s Energy has equipped the school with a functioning back-up solution during power outages and load shedding.

This innovative and flexible energy solution takes second life Nissan LEAF batteries, combined with solar panels, and uses them to generate sustainable power. TurnKey Energy sponsored the solar panels, labour, and materials for the installation as part of their responsibility initiatives.

Earth Hour quickly became the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment after it started in 2007 and aims to get more and more people behind the idea of saving the Earth through switching off their lights and taking action when it comes to climate change. The mission also happens to align with Nissan’s focus on creating a “cleaner, safer, fairer” world.

“ Nissan is committed to its sustainable development goals. We are working with Filadelfia School in the community of Soshanguve to improve its access to reliable electricity and increase its use of renewable energy,” says Wonga Mesatywa, Nissan’s Director of Corporate Affairs.

In 2018, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that the amount of people without access to electricity fell below one billion. But despite this, the national grid is still responsible for 85% of the population, and the constant constraints mean the school regularly experiences unscheduled “blackouts”, that often span over a full day.

The school is even dependant on reliable energy than mainstream schools because of various disabilities the students face. Deaf students cannot read sign language in the dark, and some of the students can’t manoeuvre around the school when they have no lights guiding them.

View the mini documentary on the school on Nissan Stories: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAO33Fx5DJw&feature=youtu.be