Naiviivi Primary School

Naiviivi Primary School is in Naiviivi Village on Qamea Island, in Fiji's north-east. It has 135 students from Year 1 to Year 8, taught by 6 teachers.

Before solar, the school's 5 kVA generator ran the photocopier and laminator and charged devices, and three of the teachers' homes drew power from it while it ran. Getting fuel to the island cost almost as much as the fuel itself, so the solar system diverts significant funds to education while also cutting carbon emissions.

The school had two very small solar systems, each powering one room, but their lead-acid batteries had failed long before and the systems no longer worked. We removed those batteries and sent them for recycling. The teachers' homes had small two-panel systems whose batteries had also failed or were failing. Since we installed the 5.5 kW system in 2023, the whole school and the teachers' homes have reliable power.