Not-for-profit setting sail to install solar power for Solomon Islands school

A school in the Solomon Islands will become the first in the country to be powered by the sun after a Cairns not-for-profit sails across the Coral Sea to install the system in April.

Some members of the project team will sail to the Solomons on Ocean Guardian Explorer which will depart Cairns in April.

A school in the Solomon Islands will become the first in the country to be powered by the sun after a Cairns not-for-profit sails across the Coral Sea to install the system in April.

Next month, Far North not-for-profit AIP Collective will be sailing from Cairns to install solar power on the remote Ha’apai School, on New Georgia Island.

AIP Collective will make the jump across the Coral Sea on Ocean Guardian, a purpose built catamaran for scientific and project expeditions.

Andrew Price is the founder of the AIP Collective and owner of Ocean Guardian which will make the 10 day trip across the Coral Sea to the Solomons.

Australian Radio Towers sponsored the solar powered system for the school last year, and it is ready to be installed.

AIP Collective is taking a team of solar specialists from Australia to install solar on the newly renovated school building.

“ART designed, manufactured and shipped a stand alone solar system to The Solomons last year, however due to lingering Covid restrictions, we had to postpone the installation work until this year,” AIP Collective spokeswoman Emma-Lee Luther said.

Ha’apai Village School services five villages fringing the Roviana Lagoon, and is an essential education pathway for young children in the region.

It will be the first school in the country to have solar.

Aside from the Installation of solar panels the organisation is also helping the village raise funds for school supplies and more building materials. Photo: AIP Collective

Haâ’apai Village School services five villages fringing the Roviana Lagoon, and is an essential education pathway for young children in the region. Picture: AIP Collective

“Solar power is much better as it doesn’t pollute the village atmosphere with harmful chemicals,” Ha’apai School Principal Logan Hagere said.

“Generators are expensive to run and when our generator broke down, we could not fix it as spare parts were not available and we didn’t have the funds.

“Solar is free and it is not noisy like a generator, it is much better for our school and village.”

The village relies on subsistence farming from their community gardens, harvesting from land and sea, therefore generators are expensive to run and maintain. Image: AIP Collective

Mr Price said the vessel would be used after the Solomons trip for other projects including in the Cape at Hope Vale helping young people and elders access their sea country.

Volunteers for the solar project will also be joined by researchers from Cairns’ Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef in support of Green heroes who will documenting reef ecosystems and turtle nesting areas in the one of the most biodiverse reef ecosystems in the world, the Roviana Lagoon.

Ten people will be sailing to the solomons with AIP Collective and another 10 will be flying to help with installation as well as other projects around the community.

Originally published as Not-for-profit setting sail to install solar power for Solomon Islands school