EL PEDREGAL, NICARAGUA - SOLAR SCHOOL PROJECT

VER SITIO EN ESPANOL

On March 19, 2009 Power to the People installed a 1kW DC solar electric system on the roof of the public school in El Pedregal, Nicaragua. We officially turned the lights on for the first time at 815pm in the evening, giving the community electricity for the first time.

El Pedregal is a small village located in an extremely rural area of central Nicaragua, approximately three hours walking distance from the nearest town of 6,000 people. The community has one school with one teacher who teaches all of the children in the community at once in the same classroom. The town has no electricity, no potable water, and most residents do not even have latrines.

The solar electric system is an off-grid battery-based system with eight 123Wp modules, an inverter, 8 batteries, 11 lights, and 4 outlets for the 2-room school. The inverter converts DC electricity produced by the solar modules into AC electricity so the school is able to have power outlets in the walls to power fans, computers, televisions, radios, or other appliances.

The solar system has not only brought light to this small community, it has also provided a place to hold community meetings, given adults who are taking classes in other towns a place to study in the evening, allowed people of all ages a chance to attend televised distant learning classes, created income for the school by selling electricity to charge cell phones, and has made it possible for more advanced teaching aids during the day. The presence of electricity at the school may also encourage consistent teacher attendance and encourage other teachers to work in the town in the future, since many teachers prefer to be placed in communities with more modern conveniences.

Nicaragua, located in Central America between Honduras and Costa Rica, is home to approximately 6 million people. It is know for its production of bananas, coffee, and tobacco, for its tropical climate, its rich culture, and for its beautiful geography sprinkled with lakes and volcanoes. It also happens to be the poorest Latin country in Central America with 48% of its people living below the poverty line. Like most developing countries, much of this poverty is located in the rural areas, where people live day-to-day hoping they make enough money to feed their families. More than half of Nicaraguans live without electricity so you can imagine the impact solar energy can make on a community located in such a remote area that has no hope of ever being connected to the electric grid.

For more information about this project, fundraising activities for our next project, or how you can help, please email jenean@powertothepeople.org.

Thank you for your interest and support!

SPECIAL THANKS
We'd like to thank all of the people, companies and organization that have supported all of our projects so far. To see a complete list click here.