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Report 6 (of 6): Sunny Side
Up - Cuba
Introduction
Solar energy can bring electrification
to places the national grid cannot reach. In Cuba,
a local company has started assembling solar energy
systems and these are being used to bring electric
light to rural villages. In Las Tumbas village, solar
power benefits the local primary school and means
the health clinic is able to provide a better level
of service. This has had a direct impact on improving
people's lives.
Cuba is an independent republic in
the Caribbean Sea, about 140 km south of the
south-eastern coast of the USA. It is an island 1200 km
long with an average width of about 80 km. The
population is 11.2 million. About one quarter of the
island is mountainous, rich soils and a semitropical
climate mean that much of the land is suitable for
agriculture. Since a revolution in 1959 it has been
under continuous rule of Fidel Castro's Cuba Communist
Party. The communist commitment to social justice
has meant that Cuba has literacy and life-expectancy
rates similar to those of wealthy countries.
In Cuba 5 per cent of the population
do not have a connection to national grid electricity.
Although this is a low figure compared to many developing
countries there is still a need to connect the remaining
households because these are some of the poorest on
the island. As some of these villages are in the mountainous
interior of Cuba, and are far from the main infrastructure
it is economic for these households to be served with
solar energy systems.
Solar Energy Technology
Technologies for capturing the energy
from the sun are usually divided into two categories:
passive solar and solar photovoltaic. Passive solar,
also known as solar thermal, technologies involve
using the energy from the sun directly. This can be
achieved through architecture to promote solar heating
or cooling, various methods of solar cooking, and
different ways of using the sun to dry crops. The
project in Cuba has focused on solar photovoltaic
technologies, where solar radiation is used to generate
electricity. Modern devices use silicon layers to
form a solar cell, and these are connected and mounted
in a solar panel. Solar systems use batteries so that
they can generate energy during the day and provide
useful electricity during the evening when it is commonly
required.
Solar home systems
A common arrangement for using solar
energy is to install a solar home system. This usually
consists of a kit containing a solar panel, a battery,
the battery controller, four or five energy saving
light bulbs (compact fluorescent lamps), sufficient
cabling, and a socket that enables a radio or a television
to be connected. The solar home system is sold as
a complete unit, meaning that households do not need
to buy all the components separately.
There are many benefits to solar energy:
- No fuel requirements - In remote
areas diesel or kerosene fuel supplies are erratic
and often very expensive.
- Reliability - Solar PV systems
have no moving parts and are more reliable than
diesel generators.
- Easy to maintain - Operation and
routine maintenance requirements are simple.
- Long life - modules can be expected
to provide power for 15 years or more.
On the technical side a solar home
system will usually have a rated power of 150 to 200
watts-peak (Wp - the maximum output achievable in
perfect conditions). Often a modified 12 volt car
battery is used, giving a storage of 70-100 amp-hours
(Ah). Sometimes two or three are connected in series
to give a total storage of 200 - 300 Ah. Frequently
DC lamps are supplied and there is no need for an
inverter, which keeps costs low. If an AC output is
required then a small inverter will usually be sold
with the solar home system, but AC is generally used
to reduce power transmission losses and within the
home it is unlikely that this is necessary.
Local manufacture
It is expensive to make the solar
photovoltaic cells, because they use expensive pure
silicon and because of the energy consumed in the
manufacturing process. In Cuba they have found that
they can import the cells only and undertake all of
the other assembly and finishing tasks, as well as
making the technology available in rural areas. The
United Nations Development Programme made an investment
of US$500,000 to enable Cuba to buy the technology
to construct solar panels out of imported solar cells.
The wafers of semi-conductor are imported in bulk
from Spain or Germany, but all of the putting together
of the solar panel is done in Cuba. The principal
output of the Ernesto Che Guevarra electric component
factory, outside Havana, is now solar panels.
Cubasolar
Cubasolar is a Cuban non-government
organisation, established in 1994 with the objective
of promoting renewable energy and environmental preservation.
The work of Cubasolar involves providing solutions
to social problems through the supply of energy. It
also has a focus on energy in health and education
provision. The Cuban engineers and scientists who
make up the company's staff have received international
acclaim for their efforts to bring renewable energy
to Cuba. It is no longer uncommon to see solar panels
on schools and houses in rural Cuba.
Las Tumbas Village
In the western province of Piņar del
Rio is Las Tumbas, a small coffee-growing village
in the mountainous region in the interior of Cuba.
The village is located about 140 km west of Havana
and has around one hundred inhabitants. Before Cubasolar
brought photovoltaic power the villagers' activities
were limited in the evenings. People say they just
used to go to bed early. Now, with good quality lighting,
studying and other activities can go on long after
dark.
School
The first building in the village
to benefit from solar energy was the primary school.
A set of solar panels provides enough electricity
to power a television, a video and a computer. Children
in Las Tumbas can now benefit from the same access
to educational resources as children in city primary
schools. These resources include documentary films
tailored for each stage of schooling. The computer
in the classroom now means that there are even more
ways of delivering educational material. Computer
technology, when linked to the internet, is an important
"information and communication technology" or ICT.
The importance of broadening the access to these technologies,
and the information that they can access, is now being
understood within the global fight to eradicate poverty.
TV room
Now the school has electricity there
is access to television. This became so popular that
a separate television room was built, so people watching
TV in the evening would not drain the battery of energy
intended for the school. Even if there is mainly an
entertainment reason for the popularity of television,
it is also important for bringing information to a
rural community.
People are better informed about global
issues and feel more part of the society they live
in. In the case of Cuba there is one channel dedicated
to educational programming.
Households
Solar panels on a house in Las Tumbas |
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All the houses in the village now have
solar panels. Parents have noticed that children come
home, rest, and then start doing their homework, with
the benefit of good quality light from the solar system.
There is enough energy from one day's sunlight to keep
the lights on for five hours after dark, and to power
a small radio.
Clinic
The other significant impact of the
project which benefits every member of the community
is that there is electric power in the village clinic.
Important vaccines and medicines can be kept refrigerated
and families now have access to the vaccines that
they need without having to travel to the nearest
city.
Solar energy provides power for a computer
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The clinic in Las Tumbas also has a
transmitting radio set. This means that in the case
of emergency the doctor can communicate with the nearest
hospital. Furthermore, now that there is electric light,
inspections can take place in the evenings, for example
if the patient has been working.
Conclusion
Often the energy needs of poor people
are not high; small amounts can have a big impact.
The systems that have been installed in Las Tumbas,
Cuba, have shown the benefit of educational systems
for schoolchildren, the benefit of solar light in
households, and the ability to store vaccines in the
clinic. All three groups of beneficiaries have also
benefited from improved communication. From the sun's
energy there is now power for household radios, school
television, and a facility for the doctor to communicate
with central health provision. The spill-over benefits
from this simple technology pervades all these aspects
of daily life.
The success of this project has meant
that the Cuban government is investing in renewable
energy technology in other parts of the country where
it is expensive to extend the national grid.
Further Information
Hands On
Series 3:
Sun
Slate, Dominican Republic
Series 2:
Solar City - Germany
Series 1:
The
Oxford Solar House - England
Cubasolar
Carmen No 270 e/ Saco y Luz Caballero. 10 de Octubre
Habana
Cuba
Tel: +537 24-3117
Fax: +537 24-1732
E-mail: sol@cubasolar.cu
http://www.cubasolar.cu/
Publications
The Power Guide - An international
catalogue of small-scale energy equipment, W.
Hulscher and P. Fraenkel, 1994.
Solar Photovoltaic Products - A
guide for development workers, A. Derrick, C.
Francis and V. Bokalders, 1991.
These are available from ITDG Publishing
- E-mail: bookshop@itpubs.org.uk.
http://www.itdgpublishing.org.uk/
ITDG technical brief on Solar
Photovoltaic (PDF)
ITDG technical brief on Solar
Refrigeration for Vaccines (PDF)
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