Sunmotor International Partners with Nexen on Village Water Projects



What began as a casual telephone conversation in Alberta over the recycling of used solar panels ended with a village in Sudan drinking clean, fresh water only a few weeks later.

Eric Jensen, President of Sunmotor International Ltd. of Olds, is pleased to have found an opportunity to not only recycle used solar panels from Nexen Inc., but to put them to such a vital use in Africa.

's8220;This is exactly the kind of collaboration that works for the greater good,'s8221; says Jensen. 's8220;Nexen was looking for a way to dispose of these panels from a reclamation project that had run its course. When I suggested that we could put them to work in Africa providing drinking water for a remote village, the conversation went from a purchase negotiation to a charitable donation.'s8221;

's8220;It's8217;s great to work with companies with such a social conscience.'s8221;

Nexen donated nearly 3kilowatts of solar panels to Sunmotor to use in the overseas village water projects. Nexen previously used the panels to power pumps at an environmental remediation project in Southern Alberta.

Sunmotor tested the decommissioned solar panels and found them to be 's8220;good as new's8221;. They were matched with Sunmotor's8217;s SUB500 submersible pump to provide water in Africa and other remote locations.

The first pumping system was assembled in Calgary at the end of August. It has since been sent to Sudan to provide water for a rural development project managed by ACTED, the Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development.

's8220;Sunmotor has a long history of working with NGO's8217;s to source water for village water projects such as this,'s8221; Jensen adds. 's8220;When Nexen saw the opportunity to make a contribution like this, they saw the value in it. Hopefully, other energy and resource companies will follow their lead.'s8221;

The pumping system in Sudan is due to be in action by the end of September.





Sunmotor International Partners with Nexen on Village Water Projects