VVF Canada

SOLAR POWER INSTALLED AT TARA ABBEY

Municipal electrical power is a great problem for everyone in Nepal. Load shedding (rolling blackouts) is scheduled twice a day for a

total of at least 8 hours, so it is common to use fuel powered generators for back up power.

Generators are costly to run, noisy and polluting and Tara Abbey has been able to minimize reliance on a generator by reducing the outlets and machines connected to generator power and by just doing without which really restricts many monastic activities – especially studying!

Last year Khenpo Chonyi, the Abbot of Tara Abbey, tested the use of solar power by installing a small solar panel and battery to illuminate the walkways between buildings. It worked so well that the decision was made to provide more solar power throughout the Abbey.

Kuber Electronics of Nepal has just completed the installation of solar panels, inverters, batteries, wiring and insulation which will provide lights for dorm rooms, shrine rooms, the dining hall, hallways and front gate.

Half of the $8000.00 USD needed for this project came from HCF donors (including Friends of Tara Abbey) in the United States and half from a a generous Tara Abbey donor from Malaysia.