Aussie charity powers Fiji schools with solar PV and batteries

An Australian solar manufacturer has teamed up with a local charity to provide solar power and storage to two remote Fijian schools.

Hanwha Q Cells Australia, along with the It’s Time Foundation, have donated solar PV systems consisting of 40x 235W panels and battery banks.

Along with many other remote areas, the majority of Pacific Islands depend on diesel generators for electricity. Diesel is not only costly and unreliable to supply to remote areas but also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

On a diving trip to Fiji, the charity’s founder, Rob Edwards, became aware of the energy supply issues facing many Fijian schools, with most only able to access electricity for a couple of hours each week.

“I just wandered into a school to meet people and found the school principal frantically typing into his laptop trying to make use of the last of the generator power,” he said.

Edwards has now completed five projects in total, with the two most recent installations being Wainimakutu High and Lavena Primary. Another project, Namamanuca Primary, is two-thirds funded.

The Wainimakutu system comprises of 20 235-Watt Q CELLS solar panels, SB5000 and SI8.0H SMA Inverters, 4 SB1802 1350Ah PowerStack battery banks  and Clenergy Solar Terrace II ground mountings.

The Lavena School system, on the island of Taveuni, comprises of 12 235-Watt Q CELLS solar panels, SB3000 and SI6.0H SMA Inverters, four SB1802 1350Ah PowerStack battery banks and a Clenergy roof mounting system.

The array feeds power to a grid inverter, which feeds directly to the school. The unused power is fed to a remote inverter that converts the power so that it can be stored in large Powerstack batteries.

Edwards has also committed to bringing the benefits of energy efficiency to the schools, via an education plan as well as through retrofitting.

At Wainimakutu High, he took out approximately 2,900 watts of lighting and replaced it with 550 watts of LED globes and tubes for the equivalent amount of light.

The result has been all-day power for the school and increased savings for more computers. Diesel generation is limited to occasional evening back up.

In the three weeks since the school systems were brought online, none have needed to start their diesel generators.

See more about the foundation here.