15 local technicians in Solomon Islands have been trained to install and maintain rural solar power systems, so they can pass on this knowledge to rural communities.
The training was hosted by the Solomon Islands National University, through the USAID funded Vocational Training and Education for Clean Energy Programme.
The co-ordinator for the solar training program, Gavin Perera, says the department of rural electrification is overseeing the installation of 2,000 solar systems across the Solomon Islands.
He says it’s hoped this training will ensure such projects are a success. “There’s not that much training and local expertise, you would say at the village level to help support these systems. The training helps to boost the skills of the technicians in the Solomon Islands to help improve the sustainability and the success of future and current solar programmes.”
Gavin Perera says he hopes this will spread solar systems to the 80 percent of people in the country who don’t have access to energy.