Community Power Supply, Cuba

Project description

In 2008, the West of Cuba was haunted by a terrible hurricane which devastated, among others, the mountain village El Toro. The inhabitants who held out and remained in the place have meanwhile restored the majority of the devastated buildings, however, these villages still remain disconnected from the grid. Together with Phaesun, Karen e.V. Associations have now equipped the medical centre,  the community club and the shop with a solar system to provide illumination and cooling.

 

Why was PV selected?

The villages have never been connected to the electricity grid. After the hurricane a lot of infrastructure in the Western part of Cuba was completely destroyed. The extension of the electricity grid plays a minor role in the infrastructure development in Cuba. Off-Grid PV systems are the most reliable power source in the Cuban mountains far from the grid.

 

Special challenges

One of the Phaesun technicians supervised the installation work and trained the local technicians in order to enable them to carry on with further installations independently. Moreover, two cleaning stations for clothing, a grocery store, as well as several households are supposed to be provided with solar power. Karen e.V. have been supporting social projects in Latin America for more than 20 years by installing power systems on the spot.

 

Location

  • Village El Toro, Cuba

Project participants

  • Phaesun
  • Karen e.V.

End user

  • Community of El Toro

Installation

  • January 2014

Size

  • 6 kWp solar generator
  • 1695 Ah x 48 V= 81,36 kWh battery bank

 System components

  • 32 x solar modules, ET Solar, monocrystalline, 200 Wp, 24 VDC
  • 2 x MPPT solar charge controllers, Studer VarioTrack VT-65, 65 A
  • 24 x VRLA batteries, Hoppecke, 1695 Ah (C100)
  • 2 x inverter/chargers, Studer XTH 6000-48
  • Temperature sensor, remote control
  • Module support structures, cabling and accessories