The SolSol project has now taken its solar training site to light up. The project conducted its inaugural training session at Malahang as part of establishing training site there. According to Project Manager Bonnie Keoka, six people completed the first training course. During the same period, the team successfully carried out the first solar installation at the LDS compound in Malahang. Fourteen solar panels now sit on the roof of the LDS office building, connected to a small battery system with a capacity of 10 kWh and now fully powering the compound.
Installation of change-over switches in each user house, enables each building to switch instantly to solar power as backup during blackouts and to continue operating essential appliances such as lighting, refrigerators, kettles, and office equipment just as they would on mains electricity.
The Malahang setup serves as the blueprint for all future SolSol installations in remote rural communities. It is designed to function both as a practical demonstration site and as a training hub where future technicians will learn hands-on skills before deploying SolSol sites at mission stations, health centres, schools and seminaries across the country.
As SolSol continues to grow, funding applications are progressing, technical partnerships are strengthening, and community engagement is expanding. The project’s first successful installation at Malahang marks a hopeful beginning, symbolizing what is possible when faith, vision, technology and community come together.
SolSol’s journey is only beginning, but its first lights in Malahang shine as a powerful sign of the transformation that clean energy can bring to Papua New Guinea’s rural heartland.
(text by Warime Guti, see full story on ELCPNG homepage, here)
text contributed by Warime Guti (ELCPNG communications)