Solar Panels power Baghdad health clinics
Mahdi Jonny, an electrical engineer with the Joint Projects Management Office, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, checks the wiring on a series of solar panels on the roof of the New Iraq Health Clinic in Gazaliyah, Aug. 12. Photo by Sgt. Joshua Risner, Multi-National Division – Baghdad.
The roof of the New Iraq Health Clinic here in the Gazaliyah district looks a little different from the buildings surrounding it. Two rows of solar panels, collecting the bountiful Mesopotamian sunlight, now provide the building’s power through solar powered battery systems.The addition is part of an ongoing effort by the Joint Projects Management Office (JPMO) of 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, according to Maj. Andrew Attar, from Bristol, Conn., the JPMO chief.
“The solar panel project started in April, but like most of the clinics in Baghdad, various American funding sources have gone into it over the years,” said Attar. “The solar panels help to augment the electrical grid which is improving every day but still not consistent enough for a medical facility.”
Solar power has greatly improved operations inside the clinic, which services the local area, according to Attar.
“It pretty much powers the entire clinic,” he said. “We’ve had to reduce the number of refrigerated air conditioning units, but in their place we put air units that have less energy needs and still provide cool air.”
The JPMO inspected the solar power system to ensure that it was working efficiently and correctly, Attar explained.
“We inspected the [solar] panels but more importantly we inspected the internal wiring within the clinic to make sure the loads are properly segregated,” he said. “Some rooms require a lot of energy, some rooms require very little energy, so that is one of the finishing touches – if it’s not done right, it’s a problem. We’re making sure that a room requiring a lot of energy has the proper wiring so it can handle the load.”
Attar added that the quality assurance/quality control aspect of the project is equally important.
“Our job is to make sure that the money that the American tax payers are spending is used in accordance with the statement of work agreed upon by us and the contractors,” he said. “We don’t pay until the work’s done right.”
The New Iraq Health Clinic is the third clinic in Baghdad to receive solar powered battery systems, according to Attar.
DVIDS
By Sgt. Joshua Risner
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