Sun to power Hawaii school
Associated Press/Dec 18, 2006
source: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650216002,00.html
HONOLULU — Niihau’s only school will soon be powered by the sun. The privately owned island off the west coast of Kauai has only about 160 residents, and it’s school is currently powered only by generators. The new power system will allow the school to have a refrigerator and freezer as well as computers and printers for the first time, said Daniel Hamada, the district superintendent for the state Department of Education.
County officials announced late last week that a federal grant and state and county partnership will help bring the photovoltaic power system to the island. Pieces of the system are expected to arrive on neighboring Kauai in the next few months. The parts will then be transported by barge to Niihau and installed by the summer, said Glenn Sato, energy coordinator with the Kauai Office of Economic Development.
The total cost of the system is $207,000. Most of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development, with added funds from the county and education department. Niihau Ranch installed wires and donated a concrete pad for the modules. It also contributed shipping and installation services. Niihau Ranch has long wanted to make the entire island self-sufficient in its energy use, said the island’s owner, Bruce Robinson. “This project, which will supply 100 percent of the school’s electric power from solar cells, is an important part of this goal,” he said.