SolarWorld Donates Solar Panels to Pump Water in Earthquake-Ravaged Haiti

The SolarWorld group is donating solar modules to power 10 pump stations to provide clean, safe water for up to 175,000 earthquake survivors in Haiti.

SolarWorld is donating modules to the nonprofit Water Missions International (WMI) for use in water-pumping stations in the Haitian capital of Port-Au-Prince. At a discount, the company also has shipped modules to operate about 25 additional WMI water stations. The company could speed product to Haiti because, from its U.S. sales hub in Camarillo, Calif., SolarWorld has been active in the Latin American market about 30 years. The company is the largest and most experienced solar manufacturer in the United States.

"Fuel shortages in Haiti are causing major roadblocks in providing aid,” said George C. Greene IV, WMI vice president for international programs. "Through SolarWorld’s assistance, WMI continues to place solar-powered water systems in the neediest areas. We have been incredibly blessed by our relationship with SolarWorld, and we know thousands of lives will be saved as a result of its hard work and generous efforts.”

SolarWorld is donating the 10 kilowatts of solar equipment through its Solar2World program, which provides equipment for off-grid rural solar projects in the developing world. Last summer, the program gave more than 10 kilowatts in modules to a clinic in a remote Haitian village. The clinic reportedly is serving quake refugees.

Walt Ratterman, co-founder of SunEnergy Power International, directed the clinic project. Ratterman has been missing in Haiti since the Jan. 12 earthquake. Jean Jacques Sylvain, principal of longtime SolarWorld distributor Green Energy Solutions, is helping to search for him.

"Walt is a hero to many of us in the solar industry,” said Paul Dailey, U.S. coordinator of the Solar2World program and marketing manager for SolarWorld. "We're all pulling for him and praying he is found soon."

Solar2World is participating in another project in Nicaragua.

About the SolarWorld group: The SolarWorld group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules to the specialist trade and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The largest production facilities are in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro,Ore. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. Since 1999, SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange in Germany.