The Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF) has installed PV systems at more than 40 health clinics in seven countries, including Haiti. Fifteen of these projects have been for Partners In Health (PIH), including the 10 kW installation in Boucan Carré that secured critical loads and reduced the clinic’s diesel fuel consumption by 64%.
Reducing generator run times became a key PIH objective and, after the 2010 earthquake, SELF designed larger systems for five PIH clinics. The generosity of many in-kind and cash donors enabled SELF to plan for installing 129 kW at these clinics—nearly 26 kW per clinic on average—in 2011.
In addition, SELF received a $1.5 million grant from the Inter-American Development Bank for PV systems on five community centers and to install street lighting at a transition camp. NRG Energy also selected SELF to implement its $1 million pledge to the Clinton Global Initiative, which will put more PV systems on 11 schools, a fish farm, street lighting, and drip irrigation systems near the clinic in Boucan Carré. Such clustering of applications will demonstrate the viability of the PV solution for electrifying rural villages in Haiti and throughout the developing world.
