Sihurong Solar Project Report
A Joint Venture of San Juan College and the Tibetan Village Project
INTRODUCTION: Mike Sullivan is a former board member and
longtime supporter of Tibetan Village Project. He is an
instructor at Solar Energy International, and is an Adjunct
Professor at San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico.
Chris Strouthopoulos is an Assistant Professor of English and
the Coordinator of International Programs at San Juan
College. Chris and Mike looked into the idea of choosing Tibet
as one of San Juan College’s international programs, with a
focus on solar training and volunteer work. Chris and Mike
invited Tamdin Wangdu, the founder and Executive Director
of the Tibetan Village Project, to Durango in 2011 for a “Meet
& Greet” event that helped to generate greater interest for
the project. With a great team effort, Tamdin, Mike, and Chris
put together a project plan, itinerary, and budget proposal. In
early 2012, the course was advertised through San Juan
College, and 11 students joined the “Solar Mission to Tibet”
trip. The group traveled to China and the Tibetan Plateau
between June 4th and June 18th, 2012, in order to complete
the solar project in Sihurong in the Kham area of the Tibetan
Plateau.
Figure 1: Kenpo along with trip
leaders Chris Strouthopoulos (left)
and Mike Sullivan (right).
SIHURONG COMMUNITY: Sihurong consists of 2 villages, Sera and Seyi. At an elevation of 3415 meters
(11,200 feet), Sihurong is located about 70 kilometers southwest of Kangding -- about 2 days travel from
Chengdu. Sihurong Valley has an estimated population of 1,000 people divided between about 170
households. Most spend the summer months farming, with wheat, barley, cabbage, and potatoes being
the main crops. Families earn additional income by harvesting the popular caterpillar fungus during May
and June. Animals such as yaks and chickens are also kept for
additional resources. Sihurong Monastery, which is in its final
stage of rebuilding at a new location in Sihurong valley, serves
as a community and spiritual center. Khenpo Dulpa Gyalten,
the abbot of Sihurong Monastery helps to support and unite
the community through the efforts of projects and activities
at the monastery, clinic, and school. Khenpo is the TVP’s main
host in Sihurong for Conscious Journeys and an important
local partner.
MEDICAL CLINIC:
In 2010, Khenpo, the abbot of Sihurong
Monastery, worked with the local government to secure a
permit to build a Tibetan style medical clinic in Sihurong.
Tibetan Village Project spent $11,800 for construction of a
120 square meter clinic with 8 rooms; the clinic construction
was completed in early 2011. Khenpo also expressed a need
to provide a reliable source of light for the clinic doctor to be
able to perform her work. Tamdin concluded that the clinic
would be an ideal location for the Solar Mission proposal, and
Figure 2: Sihurong Village
detailed plans were made from there.
Figure 3: Sihurong Clinic’s four rooms and newly installed photo voltaic system.
PV SYSTEM DESCRIPTION: The objective of the PV system is to provide a stable source of electricity for
indoor and outdoor lighting, and to serve as a model for nearby communities. Like elsewhere, many
villagers in the region may be skeptical of using photovoltaics (or anything else new), due to higher
initial costs and lack of knowledge on how to properly use or maintain a PV system. Thus, a key goal was
to keep the system reliable and easy to operate and maintain. Khenpo also expressed a desire to keep
the cost as low as possible, so that there would be more funds
available to keep the clinic staffed and stocked with medical
supplies.
Following Kenpo’s wishes, the installation consisted of a 12 Volt
DC lighting system for the four rooms in the clinic that are used
for training, medical care, and the doctor’s quarters. The system
uses a single maintenance-free sealed “gel cell” battery for
energy storage, and 280 Watts of photovoltaic panels for energy
production. For maximum efficiency (and minimum size and cost
of the PV and battery), one to three long-life solid state LED
lights are used in each room of the clinic. There are also three
exterior LED lights which work on a light and motion sensing
timer, so that the outside lights can only go on at night when
someone is walking through the clinic courtyard. In addition, the
battery is protected from damage due to over-discharge -- all
lighting loads are automatically switched off if the battery
reaches a critically low state of charge. Fortunately, this scenario
shouldn’t happen under normal conditions, due to the relatively Figure 4: Doug Dockter wires the
breaker box.
large size of the PV array compared to the lighting load.
TRAINING: As part of their sustainability
and community outreach efforts, the San
Juan team trained a monk from Sihurong
Monastery, as well as the clinic’s resident
nun, Doctor Ani Drolma, on how to use and
maintain the PV system. Tenpa Tenzin, a
local tour guide and English interpreter
also attended the training to translate and
learn about PV operation and
maintenance. If any component of the
system eventually needs to be repaired or
replaced, we would like to make sure there
are people available who know what to do.
In addition, the TVP allocated some funds
toward PV maintenance. For example, if
the monk or Dr. Drolma needs to travel to
purchase parts, which requires two days of
traveling from Sihurong to Chengdu, they
Figure 5: Ron Fogelman wires a lighting junction box
have money to cover their expenses, as
above one of the rooms.
well as the cost of the equipment.
TEAM MEMBERS:
When San Juan College offered the “Solar Mission to Tibet” course, it brought
together a diverse group of participants -- from a 20-year old college undergraduate to a 75-year old
retired military officer. The trip was organized as a 6 credit course through San Juan College, providing
credit hours for photovoltaic design and installation, and also for studies of Tibetan culture.
Figure 6: San Juan College team along with Kenpo and other monks outside Sihurong monastery.
1. Mike Sullivan is a solar engineer and educator working with Solar Energy International and San
Juan College, and a former board member of TVP. He was the course instructor for the solar
training aspects of the class.
2. Chris Strouthopoulos is an Assistant Professor of English at San Juan College. He was the course
instructor for the cultural education aspects of the class and handled all of the travel logistics
and budgets.
3. Dave Luxton is a professional PV installer based out of Alberta, Canada. In addition to his
interests in solar in Tibet, Dave is developing a solar education program for an institute in West
Bengal, India.
4. Andrew Limbach is an undergraduate student from Nebraska. He joined the Solar Mission
because of his interests in international travel, volunteer service work, and a desire to learn
more about Tibet.
5. David Oppenheimer is a senior student at San Juan College’s Renewable Energy degree
program. He joined the course to get more hands-on experience with solar equipment and learn
about applications for off-grid solar energy in developing areas.
6. Doug Dockter is a federal employee for the Bureau of Reclamation from Farmington, NM. Doug
was interested to learn more about solar technology, Tibetan Buddhism, and Tibetan culture.
7. Ellen Benton is a recently retired social worker at a woman’s shelter, also from Farmington. She
was ready to begin a new chapter in her life, and the Solar Mission was a way for her to gain
new insights into her goals and ambitions for the future, as well as have an educational
adventure.
8. Jeff Smith is an IT professional from Farmington. As an avid climber and outdoorsman, Jeff was
very interested to travel to Tibet to see some of the great glaciated peaks in Tibet, as well as to
learn about solar and Tibetan culture.
9. Joe Sitta graduated from San Juan College with a degree in Renewable Energy less than a month
before departing on the Solar Mission. The trip gave him the opportunity to put his new training
into practice, while being of service to a remote community, and also learning more about life
and culture in China and Tibet.
10. Kandy Le Moine works for the historical museam in Farmington. Her main goals in joining the
class were to be of service to others, see and learn about Tibet, and connect with new friends
and families from another culture.
11. Roger Mc Elroy is a retired military officer from Arlington, VA. He had a keen interest to be of
service in a developing community, as well as to see and learn more about Tibet.
12. Ron Fogelman is also a retired military officer and pilot, from Durango, CO. Like his close friend
Roger, Ron was very motivated to participate in a project where his work would be of great
service to others. As an avid traveler, Ron was also very interested to get a hands-on experience
in a remote corner of Tibet.
13. Scott Hunter is a graduate of San Juan College and is currently continuing his studies in History
at Fort Lewis College. He has a strong interest in learning more about Buddhist philosophy and
cultural practice.
FUNDRAISING: The participants paid their own travel expenses.
In addition, they worked to raise
money to fund the solar installation, purchase medical supplies for the clinic, and help raise awareness
for the Tibetan Village Project. They used social media, email, and personal connections to friends,
family members and colleagues.
As a result of these efforts 70 individuals donated $8,948 to cover the expenses of the project.
Here is what each person raised:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
$2,130: Doug Dockter raised $2,130.00 from 20 individuals
$1,265: Kandy LeMoine raised $1,265 from 18 individuals
$1,128: Scott Hunter raised $1,128 from 8 individuals
$925: Jeff Smith raised $925 from 4 individuals
$600: Michael Sullivan raised $600 from two individuals
$600: Roger McElroy donated $600
$600: Ronald Fogelman donated $600
$600: David Oppenheimer donated $600
$520: Chris Strouthopoulos raised $520 from 12 individuals
$400: Joseph Sitta raised $400 from 4 individuals
$200: Marca Hagenstad (not on the trip) donated $200
PROJECT FINANCES
$8,948 Total funds raised.
$4,020.74 spent on Sihurong solar project: supplies, materials, equipment, and transportation
+$3,672.86 spent on five boxes of medicine and three sessions of pilot health education
$7,693.60 TOTAL SPENT
$1,254 left for solar equipment repair and maintenance and general support of the clinic
LESSONS LEARNED & RECOMMENDATIONS:
Regarding solar technology, there is a balance to be
struck between buying materials locally and sourcing them from other regions or countries. It is
important to be able to repair or replace faulty components, but in some circumstances, it may be
desirable (or there is no alternative) to not source certain equipment locally. One critical piece of
equipment, the solar charge controller, had been sourced in China but turned out to be of low quality.
As a result, it had to be replaced by a more expensive unit from Germany. Thus, our group’s effort
would have benefitted from a more detailed knowledge of the availability and quality of solar
components and tools available in western China. The quality of available tools was often less than
hoped for, and led to some delays and compromises during the installation of the solar equipment.
There is also a recommendation that TVP performs periodic follow-up visits and training to ensure that
the PV system continues to be operated and maintained in good condition. A common problem with
new PV systems is “load creep”, where system users add new loads to the battery, thinking that the
available supply of energy can support these loads. It can require vigilance and ongoing training to keep
the energy supply and energy consumption in proper balance. Fortunately, the installed system has
excess capacity, which will prevent any load creep problems in the immediate future.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: We would like to express our sincere appreciation for all volunteer
participants, TVP staff, local coordinators, hosts, Sihurong Monastery and all donors who made possible
for us to implement this great project. This project was truly team effort. We especially would like thank
Chris and Mike for their leadership and working together with Tibetan Village Project to pull this trip
together very successfully.
FUTURE SUPPORT FOR THE CLINIC: A long standing problem is that Dr. Droma has been an unpaid
volunteer at the medical clinic. In order to insure her continued services to the village, the TVP would
like to provide a $245 (or 1500 RMB) monthly stipend to Dr. Droma to offset her expenses. As a
suggestion, donors are welcome to sign-up for TVP’s Monthly Giving Program where you can have $20,
$50, $100 (whatever amount works for you) deducted automatically from your credit card via
www.TibetanVillageProject.org. You welcome to mail your tax-deductible donation to:
Tibetan Village Project
10542 Kipling Place, Westminster, Colorado 80021 or email [email protected]. Thank you.
Figure 7: Dr. Droma (right) teaches Tamdin Wangdu (left) how to analyze a patient’s pulse inside
the clinic’s treatment room. Traditional Tibetan medicines are stored along the wall behind them
along with Western medicine (not pictured).