Sustainability
Burkina Faso is incredibly vulnerable to climate change and pollution. Sustainability is needed to guaranteeing positive development not only toady but also for future generations. It is BIT’s mission to educate a new generation of leaders and it is crucial that these leaders also pioneer climate action and responsibility. BIT educates students about the importance of sustainability and acts as a role model.
Combating desertification & climate change with trees
Climate change is rapidly leading to the desertification of sub-saharan Africa. This reduces the fertility of soils and increase the severity of both draughts and floods. The best way to combat this issue is planting of trees. In the short term trees reduce soil erosion and improve the quality of soil. In the long term trees mitigate the effect of carbon emissions and target the heart of the problem. The 1,000 trees we planted on our campus also provide much needed shade, create a tranquil environment and a good source of nutritious food.
Reducing plastic pollution
Plastic pollution is a global problem. In Burkina Faso a rapid increase in the use of plastic due to globalization and imports can not be handled, as the infrastructure needed to collect and recycle trash is missing. One main use of plastic is bottled water. BIT will address this issue in the next academic year by raising awareness and providing all of its students and staff with reusable water bottles that can be filled from a solar powered well on BIT’s campus. Additionally, BIT has a high energy trash incinerator to sustainably dispose of trash.
BIT Electricity Upgrade - Reliable & Renewable
Development often goes hand in hand with an increase in CO2 emissions, which are driving climate change and all its negative impacts. Burkina Faso is already extremely vulnerable to climate change. BIT hopes to get it right from the outset by educating leaders that will build an economy based on sustainability.
BIT aims to be a green campus by fulfilling its energy needs mostly with solar power. The integrated solar and battery storage system is the backbone of a reliable energy supply to the campus that allows the students to learn and live without frequent power outages. To ensure a 100% reliability of supply to critical infrastructure the system is connected to a modern and low-emission DEUTZ Gen-Set for backup.
HEP is a long-time supporter of the BIT and donated and installed a first solar system in 2019. Currently, HEP is planning the installation of a second solar system in 2022 that will mainly serve the energy demands of our student dormitories. The system will produce about 60kWp and includes over 100KWh of battery storage to cover the specific dorm load patters. An integrated energy management system will allow us to optimally manage the supply sources and demands and also provide a great learning opportunity for our more senior electrical engineering students.