Navakawau Catholic School

Navakawau Catholic School is in Navakawau Village, at the southern end of Taveuni. It has 165 students, 8 teachers and eight teachers' homes. The school was badly damaged by a cyclone, and much of it was rebuilt or repaired with very strong replacements, completed in mid-2019.

Before solar, a small generator supplied up to three hours of power a day to the school office and the few classrooms that had wiring, plus limited evening power to the teachers' homes. We expected the solar system to divert more than FJ$4,000 a year from generator fuel into educational equipment and resources.

The 3.5 kW system included 12 Yingli 275 W panels, an OutBack FLEXpower ONE inverter/charger, six SimpliPhi PHI 2.7 lithium batteries and a Clenergy Solar Terrace II ground-mount system. We wired eight classrooms, two offices and the staff room, and added extra power points to the library so it could double as a computer room.

The school committed to spending 20 minutes each week picking up plastic – less waste, and great learning for the kids.

The project was funded by the Rotary Club of Balwyn, to whom the kids at the school send a big vinaka – thank you. As always, our thanks go to CBS Power Solutions for partnering with us on the installation, and to our equipment and service supporters.