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2015 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC96
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC, AN ECO-CITIZEN COMPANY
Collective electrification: Schneider Electric originally developed
Villaya Villasol, a micro solar power plant dedicated to the
electrifi cation of remote villages to meet collective needs, both
domestic and entrepreneurial. In 2012, its range was extended
with Villaya Villasmart, a micro hybrid power plant for optimized
management of an energy source derived from an engine-generator
through a combination of photovoltaic cells. The Group’s new facility
in East Africa, following the acquisition of Power Technics Ltd., has
boosted our production and assembly capacity in Kenya and in
the region to develop customized decentralized rural electrifi cation
solutions.
The collaborative MiCROSOL research project, which began in
November2011, aims to develop a unique and modular standard
technology for the simultaneous production of electricity, potable
water and heat, primarily for the benefi t of micro-industries located
in rural areas in countries with strong sunlight and direct radiation,
with Africa as the top priority. The project, led by Schneider Electric,
brings together nine public and industrial partners and is supported
by ADEME. Based on solar thermal technology, this type of micro
power plant has the advantage of being environmentally friendly. In
November2013, the MiCROSOL project consortium opened the
CEA (Atomic Energy Center) in Cadarache, the demonstrator of
its energy access solution. C apitalizing on the three years of the
project, the fi rst live pilot site on the African continent is planned
for 2016.
Community energy services: The development of energy services
helps bring added value to the users in a community. With its range
of charging equipment for the Homaya In-Diya lighting systems,
Schneider Electric has extended its offering with solar water
pumping solutions and public lighting.
The Villaya Water of the Sun solution, launched in 2012, is an
automatic solar water pumping system designed to provide
water at a reasonable price to people with limited or no access
to electricity. It uses an advanced ATV312 Solar variable speed
drive to regulate the speed of a three-phase motor depending on
the energy supplied by the solar panels. Adaptable to all types of
pumps, surface or submerged, using the Water of the Sun solution
ensures greater system reliability, simplifi ed plumbing and reduced
maintenance. In 2013, several solutions were installed in India and
Africa as part of collective electrifi cation projects.
Villaya Lampadaires Solaires solutions have been marketed since
2014 to provide public lighting with standalone LEDs in isolated
locations. Based on an intelligent energy management system,
the streetlights guarantee uninterrupted lighting, even in cases of
low levels of sunlight. Their Plug and Play design with resistant
NiMH batteries is particularly suited to the tropical environment and
can withstand high temperatures. These integrated street lighting
solutions boost personal safety and support social and economic
activities.
Training offering: For Schneider Electric, professionals must be
supported by training in energy management from educational
institutions through to vocational and continuing education
worldwide. In partnership with Schneider Electric Training and
Access to Energy Training teams, an affordable range of Access
to Energy Education teaching models and teaching tools has been
developed to meet the needs of training organizations, particularly
in emerging countries. The training offering covers the management
of high and low voltage electrical distribution, building management,
global energy management and process and machine management.
Ensure that the sustainable economic models
areadapted to local contexts
Last mile distribution: Individual and residential products are
deployed through our distribution networks, subsidiaries, and a
number of NGOs and businesses in the sector of developing access
to electricity. This new system is available practically everywhere in
the world. Partnerships have been set up with local institutions and
organizations to optimize deployment of the product and to target
the poorest communities. In 2015, Schneider Electric worked in
collaboration with La Poste du Bénin (Benin postal service) to retail
the Mobiya TS120S portable lamp through several hundred post
offi ces. This partnership was part of the Poste Verte (Green Post
Offi ce) initiative aimed at bringing essential energy, health, transport
and Internet services to Benin and Togo in an initial phase, before
rolling the initiative out to all of West Africa.
Partnerships: In2011, Schneider Electric established a partnership
with the Grameen Shakti organization based in Bangladesh.
Schneider Electric aims to supply lighting products and power
control systems that respond to the demand from Grameen Shakti.
In the middle of 2013, Schneider Electric and the Philippine NGO
Gawad Kalinga entered into a partnership to develop access
to electricity in rural communities in the Philippines. Combining
the social expertise of the NGO and the technical and economic
expertise of the Access to Energy program, the partnership aims to
support farmers, electrify remote villages, promote the production
and intelligent management of energy for the association’s
«Enchanted Farms», and train and support local entrepreneurs in
the fi eld of energy access.
Microfinance: Microcredit enables individuals and small businesses
with low or irregular incomes to fi nance the purchase of solar lighting
or individual electrifi cation solutions for economic development.
At the end of 2013, Schneider Electric, in partnership with the
PAMIGA (Participatory Microfi nance Group for Africa) association,
launched the « Energy and Microfi nance » project in Cameroon,
Ethiopia and Tanzania. Schneider Electric provides solutions
adapted to the needs identifi ed by microfi nance institutions (MFIs)
that are members of the PAMIGA network, and engages its local
partners (distributors, integrators, installers) to ensure the availability
of affordable solutions to customers of MFIs, combined with high-
quality service. Two types of loans are offered to MFI customers:
«lighting» credits that offer low-consumption solar energy lighting
solutions, and «energy» credits for providing solar solutions tailored
to the needs of an income-generating activity. That same year, the
project was selected among 20 projects selected to participate in
« Forum Africa - 100 innovations for sustainable development »
on the initiative of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the
leadership of the Deputy Minister for Development, in partnership
with the French Development Agency (AFD).
Micro-entrepreneurship: In India, Schneider Electric deploys an
energy service sales model through the creation of a network of
battery-charging entrepreneurs for the low-consumption lighting
system In-Diya. In2012, the network of more than 120selected
volunteer entrepreneurs at the start of a basic electrician training
program offered this rental service to more than 1,000households.
In 2013, the project partnered with Indian associations focused on