On Wednesday, October 16, 2013, Palau Community College (PCC) was visited by Energy Specialist William Thorp and Civil Engineer João P. C. Guimarães.  Mr. Thorp is the Energy Specialist in Palau for the North Pacific ACP Renewable Energy and Efficiency Project (North-REP), a project that assists Pacific islands form reliable and accessible energy sources.  He orchestrated the European Union (EU) funded solar panel training that was offered at the college.

Several PCC instructors, staff, and students recently completed the installation of a 1.7 KW solar array on the roof of the PCC Tekrar Building.  This project was carried out in preparation for the offering of a “PV System Design and Installation” course.  This course will be integrated into the regular Electrical Technology (ET) Program, and will be a requirement for all ET students.

The installation was led by three instructors who recently participated in the “Grid-Connected PV System Design and Installation” course: Joel Yabes, Jerry Taroy, and Toto Tellei.  They were assisted by Air-Conditioning (AC) Instructor Ding Rejano, Maintenance Department Electrician Yoshi Okabe, and AC students George Tun and Randy Alexander.  SPC North-REP, the sponsor of the original solar training, donated the necessary installation equipment to PCC.

PCC would like to give a special thanks and recognition to SPC North-REP Palau for initiating the solar panel project as well as making it possible for the college to offer a new course about PV system installation.  We are pleased that the college is able to offer this technology to our students at a time when photo voltaic systems are becoming a regular feature of homes, buildings, and other facilities in Palau.