http://www.granma.cu/ingles/2007/mayo/mier30/social-projects-latin-america-africa.html
THROUGH CUBAN COOPERATION Social projects in Latin America and Africa receiving electricity via solar panels BY LILLIAM RIERA -Granma International THE Cuban enterprise EcoSol Solar has been developing electricity projects with photovoltaic systems using solar panels in nations such as Bolivia and Venezuela within the framework of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), as well as in other countries in Central America and Africa. EcoSol Solar, a division of the Copextel Corporation attached to the Ministry of Informatics and Communications, is specializing in offering environmentally-sustainable energy solutions using solar energy and other renewable sources (namely, wind power). José Carlos Díaz and Raúl Novo, from EcoSol's Wind Power Energy Group, told Granma International that the photovoltaic systems have been installed in medical centers in the Republic of Mali; rural schools in Honduras, South Africa and Lesotho; and in both kinds of social institutions in the case of Bolivia. They highlighted the fact that Venezuela has supplied, designed and installed more than 1,143 photovoltaic systems to provide electricity in schools and medical centers, and water purification and pumping stations in rural communities. According to Díaz and Novo, the total power established up to 2006 in other countries exceeds 1.6 MegaWatt peak (MWp), while for this year, the contracted forecast stands at 2.6MWp, essentially in Venezuela and Bolivia. The Watt peak is the measure of how much energy a solar panel - the principal and mostly costly element - can produce under optimal conditions. The panel is nothing more than the interconnection of cells that generate a voltage when exposed to the light of the sun. In transforming sunlight into electricity, the panels do not contaminate the environment and generate energy that can be accumulated, thus allowing people to work even on cloudy days when, according to theoretical calculations, approximately half the electricity is harnessed. With a lifespan of 25 to 30 years, these modules may be extended and the features may increase. OVER 8,000 SYSTEMS EMPLOYING SOLAR ENERGY IN CUBA In the case of Cuba, more than 8,000 systems have been installed producing a total power exceeding 3 MWp, according to information provided by the specialists participating in the 5th International Conference on Renewable Energy, Energy Savings and Energy Education that recently concluded in Havana and was attended by 300 delegates, 100 of them from 28 different nations. Using solar panels, the state has provided electricity in rural and urban zones, in 2,361 elementary schools; 275 homes in isolated areas; five hospitals; 1,882 video rooms; 80 social centers and more than 460 medical centers. Three educational centers in rural areas plus the teachers' homes have been provided with joint wind-power/photovoltaic systems that guarantee service; six booster television stations receive power as well as cell phone systems, and 10 photovoltaic pumping systems have been installed. Likewise, electricity is now provided at the Flora y Fauna and coastguard stations on the Piedra, Romano, Guajaba, Cruz, Sabinal and Bahía de Cádiz cays. EcoSol Solar has also been responsible for establishing and operating the first demonstration wind-power park in Cuba on the Isle of Turiguanó. According to the report, the solar panels being used both to provide electricity in Cuba and in other nations where cooperation projects have been developed, are assembled at the Ernesto Che Guevara Electronic Components Complex in Pinar del Río, western Cuba. CUBA COULD BECOME 100% SOLAR Cuba's privileged geographic position, where there is virtually a uniform amount of sunlight from January through December, would allow it to provide unlimited and clean energy to the whole territory, thus contributing to the solution of the problem of national energy. "The sun shines for everyone and cannot be blocked or controlled or destroyed," said Luis Bérriz, director of CUBASOLAR (the Cuban Society for the Promotion of Renewable Energy Sources and Environmental Respect) to Granma International in 1999. Enrico Turrini, founding partner of EUROSOLAR and honorary member of CUBASOLAR, is convinced that within a few decades, Cuba could receive 100% of its electricity from solar energy. In conversation with this weekly, the Italian doctor also stated that these renewable energy sources could see a major development within the industry and tourism sectors on the island [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
