Yasayasa Moala College

Yasayasa Moala College is at Naroi on Moala Island, in the Lau Group. One solar system serves both the college and Naroi District School. The college has 106 students and 15 teachers, with classes from Year 9 to Year 12 and a vocational class in carpentry and joinery. When we installed the system, Naroi District School had 97 students and 5 teachers, with classes from kindergarten to Year 8.

There are 15 teachers' homes at the school, and three dormitories house 50 boarders from Vunuku, Nasoki, Keteira, Cakova, Maloku, Nuku and Vadra.

Before solar, the school generator powered the school and teachers' homes from 6 pm to 10 pm each day. Daytime power was limited to four hours a day, three or four days a week. We expected the new system to meet most or all of the school's power needs and save more than FJ$9,000 a year.

The 6 kW system, completed in December 2015, included 24 Yingli 250 W panels, an SMA SB5000TL grid inverter, an SMA SI5048 off-grid inverter, 12 Aquion S20P batteries and a Clenergy ground-mount system. We also wired the administration building, the library, one teacher's home, the dormitories, the dining room and the kitchen.

The project was funded by the Fiji Water Foundation.