36 Home Power #61 • October / November 1997

Richard J. Komp©1997 Richard J. Komp

Nicaraguans areextremely interes-ted in using photo-

voltaic systems. That’s thefirst thing I noticed when Istarted working on photo-voltaics at the UniversidadNational de Ingieneria(UNI) in Managua. I havejust returned from a suc-cessful two month trip toNicaragua. To give a fewof the highlights, there is anew company now manufacturing 20Watt PV modules in Nicaragua, localpeople in the barrio where I stayedasked me to teach a solar box cookerworkshop they had organized, we hadthree well-attended solar batterycharger workshops, and I lost almosttwenty pounds.

The main purpose of the trip was to teach a group ofengineering students about photovoltaics and give themas much practical, hands-on experience as possible inthe 60 day visit. This was my first trip to Latin Americaand I had not studied Spanish before starting out. Ispent a couple of weeks at a friend’s home in Floridalearning some basic Spanish before heading forNicaragua. Fortunately, my host at UNI, Susan Kinne, isoriginally from Cincinnati and is bilingual (actuallytrilingual, since her first degree is in German literature).She had already scheduled a series of three publiclectures on solar cells. These lectures were a completesuccess with her translating my English lecture. Theattendance was so great that we moved to the biggestlecture hall at the University. I discovered that therealready is an active photovoltaics market in Nicaraguausing modules and other components imported fromthe US or Europe. All the people involved in thisbusiness showed up at the lectures, and half of themare former engineering students of Susan’s.

We also scheduled a set of hands-on workshops wherethe participants assembled small 2 Volt solar batterycharger modules. These are similar to the set ofworkshops that the Maine Solar Energy Association hasorganized at the local schools here in Maine. I taughtthe first workshop with the help of the electricalengineering group (called Fenix). For the nextworkshop a few weeks later, I only give the lecturewhile the Fenix group did the hands-on part of theworkshop. For the final workshop I stayed in the

Above: Dr. Komp and electrical engineering students from UNI

Below: UNI professor Susan Kinne and students testopen circuit voltage on the panel they made.

PhotovoltaicsPhotovoltaicsin Nicaraguain NicaraguaPhotovoltaicsPhotovoltaicsin Nicaraguain Nicaragua

37Home Power #61 • October / November 1997

International

background while the students taught the entireworkshop

Once we started to assemble the 20 Watt modules wearranged an installation workshop, mounting one of thefirst modules on the roof of Susan’s home. We alsoworked with one of her former students, in charge ofcasting the lead plates at Nicaragua’s only battery plant,to start manufacturing a deep cycle lead acid battery forsolar electric storage. The first prototype solar electricbattery made in Central America is now being tested atthis installation. I also worked with three of the studentsto construct prototype charge controllers, 12 Voltelectronic ballasts, and even an inverter. The idea is tomake as much of the system as possible inside thecountry.

There are a number of photovoltaic systems inNicaragua that had been installed by volunteers fromnon-profit groups. Many of these have fallen intodisrepair or had been dismantled by the local peoplewho were never adequately trained in their use. Wecontacted several non-profit groups, which includedTerrasol in the US and a couple of German NGOs(where Susan’s command of German came in handy).We proposed that the Fenix group see to the

Above: Soldering cell inteconnects.

WHO ARE WE?by the Fenix group,

original translation by Susan Kinne

SUNI is a small business which is coming into beingat this very moment. It stemmed from an alreadyproductive collaboration between the NicaraguanNational Engineering University and Sunwatt, of theU.S.A.

SUNI is a concrete response to a screaming need inthe development of Nicaragua. About a year ago agroup of faculty and senior students began doingresearch into renewable energy to develop that fieldin the Electrical Engineering Department and toprepare themselves for productive work in an areathat the country desperately needs. The group callsthemselves Phoenix (Fenix, in Spanish).

The sun is such an obvious resource in Nicaragua,but price is an inhibitive factor in the exploitation ofphotovoltaics. One of the goals they set forthemselves was to construct photovoltaic panels inNicaragua. They were fortunate to incorporate theassistance of Dr. Richard Komp, a photovoltaicsspecialist and designer, manufacturer, and promoterof solar panels.

After the successful construction of six prototypes,the group is now producing 15 more 20 Watt panels.The orders are coming in from NGO’s who areinterested in small scale electrical generation inremote locations. We just sent out a price estimatefor 100 5 Watt panels and are researching materialsfor frequently requested 60 Watt panels.

A pre-thesis graduate student working in productionin the battery factory is developing a prototype for adeep cycle battery designed for photovoltaicsystems. Another young engineer is constructing aprototype of a charge controller. In other words, weare well on the road to being able to have locallymanufactured, economically accessible, supportdevices as well as the panel itself. By the way, this isnot re-inventing the wheel, but rather adapting tolocal circumstances. It is also being done in Indiaand working well.

We welcome you to come see our operation at theuniversity and to ask any questions you may have.

AccessSusan Kinne , Electrical Engineering DepartmentNational Engineering University • Telcor Central Box#5595 • Managua, Nicaragua • 505-267-0275 ext.335 • Fax: 505-278-1461E-Mail: skinne@unicom.uni.edu.ni

38 Home Power #61 • October / November 1997

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refurbishing and maintenance of these PV systems.This led to several field trips to marvelous places likethe Pacific Coast and the mountainous central part ofthe country. Unfortunately, I ran out of time before wegot to the rainforest, but that’s a trip for another time.

On the Terrasol field trip, the Fenix group arranged togive a photovoltaic installation workshop. This wastotally their idea, and will result in Nicaraguans teachingsolar energy to US Peace Corps workers. I hope I havestarted something.

Above: Laying down traces.

UNI hosted a large, all day conference on solar energya week before I left. We arranged for many of the solarpractitioners to give sessions on all aspects of solar.The morning sessions were devoted to solar thermalprocesses while in the afternoon we discusseddesigning and installing photovoltaic systems. TheFenix group translated the relevant parts of the MaineSolar Primer into Spanish as a handout for the morningsession and prepared an introduction to the solarelectric home (also in Spanish) for the afternoonhandout. These were given free with the registration feeof 50 Cordobas (about $5.30) for the whole day. Wehad working solar devices in the plaza in front of themeeting place and used the solar ovens we made atearlier workshops to cook soup for about 25 volunteersand others. The total attendance of 76 paid for all theexpenses and left enough in the Fenix treasury for seedmoney for future events. One of the concepts westressed is that of sustainability, financial as well ascultural and environmental, and I hope to havesucceeded.

AccessRichard J. Komp, President, Maine Solar EnergyAssociation • RR 1 Box 7751 • Jonesport ME 04649207-497-2204 • E-Mail: sunwatt@juno.com

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