The STG field team recently completed a trip to Lesotho during August 2008. Through a partnership with the Appropriate Technology Services (ATS) of Lesotho, preparation for a pilot installation at a health care center outside of Maseru has been put in motion. Engineers at ATS, already trained in construction of the solar troughs, are in the materials sourcing phase, and construction should begin before the end of the year. This system will be sized to provide approximately 3kW of electrical power (continuous during daylight hours, with battery storage for nighttime use) and up to several hundred liters of hot water per day. Discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Health to finalize the choice of health care center, in order to coordinate with other projects underway in the health sector. The STG team will be returning to Lesotho during early 2009 to integrate the trough and engine components and to conduct further technology training. The system is expected to be operational by June 2009.

Pilot installations were also assessed during the STG team visit to Lesotho. Due to problems with vandalism, the Bethel High School installation was disassembled and donated to partner organization BBCDC for use in their Solar Energy course curriculum. The installation at Ha Teboho village has weathered more than 18 months in the field without problem, however theft of the system batteries is currently preventing the system from being fully functional. The team is working on an upgrade to the Ha Teboho system, along with the development of a security plan in cooperation with the villagers of Ha Teboho, and we hope to have this system back online sometime in 2009.