Designing a Photovoltaic System Hybrid for a Health Clinic In Camilo Ortega, Nicaragua

As developing nations continue to foster the development of their technologies and economies, industrialized nations have taken an active approach in providing green and sustainable alternatives for them to consider. Non-profit organizations like Engineers Without Borders holds sustainable international development as paramount to all international projects that their student and professional chapters undertake. The Cal Poly Engineers Without Borders student chapter has implemented a variety of projects from slow sand filters to compressed earth blocks, and the Nicaragua team is in the process of designing a health clinic for the Camilo Ortega community. In order to power the health clinic, the team has decided to consider solar power as the power application of choice.This report will discuss the general set up of any hybrid-photovoltaic system, the climate of Nicaragua, the availability of photovoltaic system components in-country, the expected loads that the clinic will foresee, and the sizing for the photovoltaic array, battery array and generator back-up, and economic and environmental impact of these results.