Project Overview: Our second project in Puerto Rico is currently underway in the community of Benítez, Cubuy. The goal of our project is to work with engineering students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) to build a resilience center that will include a photovoltaic solar system and water filtration system. Our team will focus efforts on implementing the solar system while WPI students will be responsible for the water system. The site will provide the community with a stable source of electricity and water that can be used on a day-to-day basis and during emergencies such as hurricanes. Our team has been communicating with community leaders to determine the scope of this project and understand the needs of the people. This project was started in 2021 and we are excited to continue to engage with the community and expand our teams work within Puerto Rico.
August 25th, 2021
Fall of 2021
Spring of 2022
May 2022 Travel
Spring of 2023
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On August 25th, 2021 our team met with our CEC representative to officially kick-off our project in Benítez. Following the kick-off our team will spend the coming months finalizing the scope of our project. This includes determining the size of the solar system, understanding the requirements for safe drinking water in Puerto Rico, and finding solutions that fit the communities needs. We will also be looking at the infrastructure of two possible sites to determine a location for the site. Along with the design of our project, our team will assist with fundraising efforts, educating the community about the system, and ensuring regulations and requirements are followed.
Our team consists of students from the University of Wisconsin with a diverse range of majors and backgrounds. Each student who joins our team will be able to decide on a role that aligns with their interests and meets the needs of the project such as fundraising, design, operations, and education. We are very excited for the coming months and look forward to working with the community!
During the fall semester, our team will be working on getting ready for our first assessment trip to the Benitez, Cubuy community. Here are some of the specific tasks each subgroup is working on:
Design: The design group has recently decided the location for the resilience center to be Id Shallah, out of what was originally three possibilities. Currently they are researching water systems that would help meet the needs of the community, specifically the team is researching how to design a rain-water catchment system.
Education: Education will be preparing workshops for both of our communities in Puerto Rico. These workshops will teach kids in our communities about the fundamentals and importance of solar energy. As we finish our project at the Hogar, we will be creating a celebratory workshop for kids in the Mayaguez community. Along with workshops our education team will also be regularly updating our social media with project updates.
Operations: Operations is developing a list of applicable standards, regulations, and requirements for the water and solar aspects of this project. This list will assist the design team in creating a robust design for this project going forward.
Fundraising: Fundraising is working to secure funding for this project by applying for grants and creating fundraising events. They are also reaching out to several companies and organizations in search of corporate sponsorship. Thanks to the fundraising team our project has just recently received the Kemper K. grant. Their success will help fund our assessment trip coming in May of 2022 with equipment and travel funds.
During the spring semester, our team continued working on getting ready for our first assessment trip to the Benitez, Cubuy community due to the trip being delayed due to Covid-19. Here are some of the specific tasks each subgroup is working on:
Design: The design group worked on designing a solar phone charging station. In addition, they worked on updating the budget of materials, and cabling sizes for the main solar system. They also began looking into rainwater catchment feasibility at the site.
Education: The education group worked on ensuring all our social media accounts were updated and they began brainstorming ways to educate the community about our project and what the design will consist of. They worked on investigating power load management and dynamic vs active solutions. In addition, they finalized workshops for the May assessment trip and created a pamphlet for the community members. Operations: The operations group started drafting a letter of intent for the community leaders to sign. They also worked on coming up with games for the banquet. The group looked into potential DRN permit paperwork that may be needed and worked on the CEC Work Plan.
Fundraising: Fundraising worked on reaching out to companies for potential sponsorships. They made several connections with companies who are interested in working with our project to provide financial support and professional knowledge. They are making significant progress on raising funds to support both the project and assessment trip in May 2022.
This past may, five students and two mentors associated with Engineers Without Borders UW-Madison were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Puerto Rico to complete an assessment trip. On this trip we visited both the Hogar Albergue para Niños Jesús de Nazaret and the community of Benítez, Cubuy.
Hogar Albergue para Niños Jesús de Nazaret: We visited the project for the first time since implementation. The teams worked to troubleshoot several issues that had arose since implementation including grid-tie energy sell back and grid overvoltage alarms. The installer of the system Ernesto Rivera, and Puerto Rico Schneider Electric representative Gerald Quintero joined the EWB team to troubleshoot the issues. In addition, the team analyzed power consumption by performing a load analysis of the site. They continued building relationships with both the children and staff at the shelter.
Resilience Center in Benítez: We met with the Benítez community and visited the Iglesia Universal De Jesucristo de Cubuy which is the site of our new resiliency center project. The team was able to meet and build connections with community members including community leaders Javier Valedon and José (Cheo) Rodriguez. The goal of the visit was to better understand the needs of the community and assess the site. The team met with both rainwater and solar contractors and took detailed measurements of the site.
Due to complications with the site, we decided to relocate the solar project to an existing community center within the same community in Cubuy. This new site is advantageous because a team from Worcester Polytechnic Institute is already implementing a rainwater catchment system, so our team can focus our efforts on the solar installation. Design: After meeting with the community and learning about their interests, the design group has begun researching component prices and estimating project scale. They have begun creating preliminary drawings for the system including one-line drawings in AutoCAD and Helioscope simulations.
Operations The operations group has updating the work plan and other technical documentation for the new site.
Fundraising The fundraising group has been researching and applying for grants, as well as searching for companies to donate materials. Additionally, they have been working on planning the Annual EWB chapter banquet.
Student engineers working to make the world a better place