Columbia’s Post-Hurricane Recovery Gets Boost With Solar Donation
Solar manufacturer, Q CELLS, has donated solar modules to La Guajira, Colombia, to help the region recover from damage caused by hurricanes in late 2020.
In Colombia, electricity, telecommunications and water infrastructure were all damaged by Eta and Iota, two hurricanes that hit Central and South America in November 2020. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 14,470 households and 68,883 people were affected by the hurricane in La Guajira.
In order to assist the region to rebuild power generation infrastructure, specifically providing a boost to local education facilities, a total of 310kW of solar modules from Q CELLS will arrive at the port of Cartagena in August.
With on-the-ground assistance from the Institute for Planning and Promotion of Energy Solutions for Non-Interconnected Zones (IPSE) under the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Colombia, the module shipment will be delivered to educational facilities attended by about 5,600 students.
Charles (Hee Cheul) Kim, CEO of Q CELLS, said: “Solar energy is one of the most effective and eco-friendly ways to solve various social and environmental problems that humanity is facing. We will continuously provide innovative clean energy solutions to create a sustainable future, taking the lead in ESG management and social value creation.”
Notably, Q CELLS conducts Cyclone Testing at James Cook University (JCU)’s Cyclone Testing Station in Queensland, Australia. The solar modules that have been donated to Colombia have therefore been tested to withstand up to 7,310 Pa wind-load in non-cyclonic regions according to the latest test results confirmed by JCU.
JCU’s Cyclone testing is important in order to ensure that modules will withstand high wind-loads – even those delivered by destructive storms like Cyclone Larry in 2011. Larry raced over Queensland, Australia, producing wind speeds of 240 km/h. Even higher wind speeds were produced by Cyclone Yasi, which crossed Mission Beach in Australia with up to 290 km/h.
Source: powerengineeringint
