In the fall of 2023, Sister Margaret, a retired nun from the Mission of Chalatenango in El Salvador, reached out to pv magazine USA seeking support in saving electricity costs by installing a small solar power system. The Sister resides in a convent in Santa Ana with nine other sisters who can no longer physically work, but continue their service through their prayer life.
Sister Margaret found a local contractor, Grupo Solaire, which quoted the convent on a small project that would cover 73% of the site’s electricity demand. The original system’s cost is approximately $1,582 plus a utility connection fee of $650.
pv magazine USA launched a GoFundMe for the solar power project, and as of April 10th has raised $2,160 from a collection of wonderful people. The customer asked for the contractor to find a solar module combination that can cover 100% of their electricity demand, without going over the local utility rules that limit too much solar generation.
In total, we’re seeking to raise $2,912 for a 1.275 kWdc system along with the grid connection fee. The $2,160 meets 74% of the goal.
Please considering donating.
Going forward, the Pastoral Center is also looking for solar power to help save on bills, however, they’re not yet ready. The center had been limited in use, and thus had very minimal electricity bills, and didn’t meet the minimum requirements to request a solar power project based on their prior twelve months of electricity usage. They do believe that sometime in the next six months they’ll have enough of a bill history to apply for a second solar power system.
