Wednesday, September 19, 2007

First 'Solar' Primary School in E. China

China's first solar-powered primary school was formally inaugurated on Monday in the city of Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province.

Peninsula Metropolitan News reported on Tuesday that the Hushanlu primary school, integrated with solar energy heat and photovoltaic generating systems, can generate electricity to support its water supply and heating system.

With a combined generating capacity of 30 kilowatts, the photovoltaic generating system can produce150 kilowatt-hours of electricity everyday.

Meanwhile, the heat utilization system, which is able to collect sunlight in an area of 600 square meters, can convert solar energy for heating and boiling water for 30 classrooms, 860 students and teachers.

The system, which costs about 3 million yuan, also less than one ninth of the total investment in building the primary school, can work even on a cloudy or rainy day because its stored electricity can support the normal need of the school for five days. There are also more than 100 solar-powered lights on campus.

Staff members of the school were quoted by the newspaper as saying that by using solar energy, the school will be able to save about 65 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and over 261tons of coal, reducing at the same time some 695 tons of carbon dioxide, 4.6 tons of sulfur dioxide, and 4.9 tons of industrial waste emissions, as well as decreasing atmospheric pollutants by 4 tons every year.

The authority of the school believes that their experiment will better help their students learn how important renewable energy resources will be in their daily life and studies.

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