UNSW student-designed solar freezer installed on remote Fiji island

By Sophie Vorrath November 28, 2019 Solar 5 Comments

Students from the University of New South Wales have designed and installed a solar powered deep freezer in a remote village on Viwa Island, off the coast of Fiji.
The students, from the UNSW Engineering’s Sustainable Energy for Developing Countries course, visited the island as part of on-the-ground research offered by the University.
The class teacher, Dr Anna Bruce from the School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, says the students are directed to come up with a solution that will both empower the community and allow them to be self-sufficient.
“One of the key challenges in these communities is the local capacity to maintain their own equipment,” said Dr Bruce.
“We challenge the students to ensure that they design a solar system that is technically and financially sustainable. We also ask them to consider the cultural and governance structure.”

The Najia village on Viwa Island, on the outermost of the Yasawa Island group, is renowned for its fishing culture. So the students focused on creating a sustainable way for the villagers to freeze their daily catch and sell it on the mainland for more money.
“After installing the solar freezer system, we were received in a traditional island ceremony for guests to the village,” said recent UNSW Solar and Photovoltaic and Solar Energy Engineering graduate, Darcy Small, who was part of the team that travelled to Viwa Island.
“The communities we worked with place a high value on family and community relationships, reminding me of the importance of these aspects in life back home.”
The students said they hoped their research would help inform the next group of students to further assist the communities.
Further access to cold storage for fish, as well as to clean water, household electrification or clean cooking would make a positive impact on the community, they said.
“A key learning from this trip has been the importance of engineering design with people in mind, especially for humanitarian engineering,” said Sera Tarpis, a fourth-year UNSW Renewable Energy Engineering student.
“Having the privilege to enter the community and hear and see the concerns was very illuminating.
“It demonstrated the incredible impact a well-designed project can have, but also just how quickly expensive equipment can fall into disuse if not if not implemented correctly.”

Sophie Vorrath

Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.

5 Comments

Hugh Spencer November 28, 2019

I’d be interested in looking at the detailed design of the freezer (and the refrigerant used) – is that available?
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- Sophie Vorrath November 28, 2019
  
  Hi Hugh, not sure. But you can contact the UNSW team via this link: https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/solar-powered-freezer-today%E2%80%99s-catch-unsw-engineering-makes-impact-fiji
  Reply
Otto November 28, 2019

Just imagine what that would mean for maintaining medical supplies in outreach areas!
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Peter Eburne November 28, 2019

A commendable project. A requirement for clean water was mentioned and I am surprised that hydro panel technology was not mentioned. See https://www.zeromasswater.com/ap/ for a commercial solution to clean drinking water.
Please note I have no commercial interest in the solution mentioned.
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Steve Silich November 28, 2019

you don’t need refrigerant and compressors etc. You can use the Peltier effect coolers. Run on DC and no moving parts. These are used in a lot of small automotive camping fridges and freezers. Not as efficient as a compressor based refrigeration cycle but the benefit of no moving parts and no refrigerant might be worth a few extra solar panels.
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