This Christmas, Centrosolar is donating solar panels for an aid project in Haiti. The ‘Centre de Santé Lachapelle’ health centre in northern Haiti will receive Centrosolar panels with an output of 7 kWp. A diesel power system has been supplying the centre with power up to now. However, it could only operate intermittently on grounds of cost.
The Centre de Santé Lachapelle is an important facility for outpatient medical care, vaccination campaigns and maternity services. It is operated by Haiti-based Organisation Service Oecuménique D’Entraide (SOE), with the support of Medico International. The donated solar system will mainly be used to provide power to medical equipment, refrigerators used to store medicines and computers in the ward. The stand-alone system, backed up by batteries, will provide a more stable and reliable supply of power. This means the centre’s limited opening hours can be extended. “Almost three years after the earthquake, the situation in Haiti remains precarious. Thousands still live in tent cities and emergency camps. The public power grid is not fully developed, and it is also extremely prone to disruptions. That’s why photovoltaic systems make such a massive contribution to ensuring a reliable power supply,” reports Manuela Jakobi, press spokeswoman at Centrosolar.
Centrosolar supports the Haitian health centre in cooperation with the Biohaus-Stiftung (Biohaus Foundation). The foundation, responsible for installing the donated panels on site, is also donating inverters and batteries. In 2009, Willi Ernst, founder of one of Centrosolar’s predecessor companies and currently an advisor to the Centrosolar Group AG, established the Biohaus-Stiftung für Umwelt und Gerechtigkeit (Biohaus Foundation for Environment and Justice). He will travel to Haiti in February to oversee the installation of the new solar power system.
