Archive for September 2006
Recent Photos
September 27, 2006, 7:20 pmHere are the latest photos for the months of July, August and September.
Click the photo below to view the album.
—Administrator | 5 comments
(posted in the Photos category)
Energy
September 26, 2006, 4:42 amMorro Negrito Surf Camp is now a 100% alternative energy powered surf camp.
The surf camp has been using solar panels since 2000, but it was necessary to occasionally supplement the power with a gas powered generator on cloudy or rainy days. September 2006, a one thousand watt wind turbine was installed that has been doing an excellent job of supplementing the solar system with wind generated power. Previously, the solar batteries would automatically disconnect themselves due to low voltage at about midnight. Now, there has been 24 hours of electricity at the camp since the system was installed two weeks ago.
The solar/wind generator systems perfectly compliment each other because quite often when the sun isn’t shining, the wind is blowing in the late afternoons, evening and night hours.
“We are very happy to be able to generate enough power through these alternative energy sources to take care of all our electrical needs”, states Steve Thompson, part owner of the surf camp. “Hopefully, we can help inspire the camp visitors that come to surf camp to perhaps consider installing their own clean energy systems, wherever they may come from. Since we are on an island, there is no “grid” system that we are able to tap into. Continuously burning gas or diesel didn’t seem like such a good idea to us. We decided instead to invest in these systems to help keep the tropical paradise of Panama clean and pure as it might possible be.”
There are also a large number of independently powered solar lights around the camp, reducing the drain on the battery bank that stores the electricity.
Future plans that are on the drawing board entail a possible hydro-electric system. “There are a number of artesian springs pumping a large amount of water out of the ground, so much that it has created several water falls on the island,” explains Steve. “With all that untapped energy coming out of the ground, I am sure we will be able to harness it for the energy needs of both the surf camp and perhaps even the local islanders.”
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(posted in the News category)
