World Vision Japan and Solar Frontier announced today that they will donate 50kW of Solar Frontier CIS modules to ten elementary and junior high schools that have been designated as evacuation centers in Miyagi Prefectures Kesennuma City, which was severely damaged in the Great East Japan Earthquake. This project comes at the request of Kesennuma City in order to protect the lives of the citys residents, and particularly its children, from the effects of future natural disasters.
Many of the designated evacuation centers in Kesennuma are elementary, junior, and high schools. However, after last Marchs disaster, lifelines such as electricity and running water were severed at many of these evacuation centers, delivering an additional blow to the daily lives of the victims. These new solar installations will provide part of the schools electricity in normal times and power the evacuation centers located there in times of natural disasters. In addition, World Vision Japan plans to support the installation of wells and emergency supply warehouses which can also be powered by the solar installations.
Our survey of evacuees in May last year showed that a shortage of electricity and water was the most difficult issue evacuation centers faced immediately after the disaster, said World Vision Japan National Director Nobuhiko Katayama. Children spend a large part of their time at school, so reinforcing disaster prevention functions there will help protect them from the effects of future natural disasters. Also, through the operation and management of solar panels on a daily basis, we hope that children will acquire a heightened sense of preparation for future disasters.
We hope that this project will alleviate some of the burden on the local community in times of natural disaster, said Solar Frontier President Shigeaki Kameda. Victims of natural disasters face numerous difficulties, but we hope to be able to alleviate some of those difficulties by securing electric power using sunlight, which is a sustainable, clean energy source. These solar modules will contribute to the protection of children and the local community for many years to come.
Solar Frontier will donate 50kW of its CIS thin-film solar cell modules together with power conditioners and other peripheral equipment, while World Vision Japan will provide support to cover the solar panel installation costs and the costs related to the wells and emergency supply warehouses. The systems are slated to be installed in ten schools, including Kesennuma Elementary, Matsuiwa Elementary, Omose Elementary, Karakuwa Elementary, Ohya Elementary, Tsuya Elementary, Shishiori Junior High, Niitsuki Junior High, Oshima Junior High, and Koharagi Junior High, with cooperation from the Kesennuma Shokai Corporation.
