Talca (Chile). The Agricultural Technical High School Mary Help of Christians of Colín of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of St. Teresina of Talca Community, of St. Gabriele Archangel Province (CIL), in collaboration with the o-Energy Company, equipped the school structure, in particular the agricultural farm of the High School with a system of 96 photovoltaic panels, which contribute clean energy to the energy needs.
In March 2021, the Educating Community started collaborating with the o-Energy Company that deals with renewable energy, for the realization of a project related to photovoltaic solar energy, which has allowed equipping the farm of the High School with two systems: an isolated photovoltaic system with frequency variators for 1.5 horsepower irrigation pumps and a photovoltaic system of 34.8 kilowatts of power connected to the energy network.
On 1 October 2021, the inauguration of the plants took place in the agricultural area of the High School of Colín. The ceremony was attended by the Director General of the o-Energy Company, a representative of the Regional Secretary of the Ministry of Education, the Legal Representative of the High School, Ms. Lorena Garín, and Sr. Silvia Barañados, Animator of the FMA St. Teresina Community.
In her speech, Ms. Lorena Garín underlined, “We are the first School in the Region and in the country to have this type of systems which, in addition to providing renewable energy, brings with them a series of environmental benefits, including the ability to generate energy without the emission of greenhouse gases and therefore to contribute to the reduction of global warming. Pope Francis in his encyclical Laudato Si’, speaks of the urgent challenge of protecting our common home, which includes the concern to unite the entire human family in the search for sustainable development and integral ecology, because we know that things can change. This plant is our small contribution to take care of our home and our planet.”
In the Colín school complex, where three sections for technical training are active – Agricultural Technician, Nursing Technician, and Kindergarten Technician – with a total of about 260 students, there is already a system with solar panels placed on the roof of the resident house hosting 50 female students. The new plants will provide 40.00 kilowatts per year of clean energy, which will cover 98.2% of the energy needs of the High School and the farm where rows of small fruit plants such as raspberries and blueberries, and larger fruit trees of cherries, apples and others are grown.
The project also involves the training of students of the Agricultural Department. In this regard, on 28 October 2021, the 3rd year students completed a training session at the Las Perdices photovoltaic park of the o-Energy company, where they acquired new knowledge relating to the production of clean energy.
Mary Help of Christians Agricultural Technical High School offers dual training, in presence at the High School and at the farm, to allow students to reach technical levels of quality and have better job opportunities, promoting their human, social, and professional growth. This project, in collaboration with the o-Energy society, is a concrete expression of the commitment of the Educating Community and, in general, of the FMA Scholastic Institutions in transmitting to the younger generations their responsibility for the care of the common home.
Source: fmachile.org
