Clinica de Familia La Romana

Offsetting electricity expenses through solar-generated energy

Energy & Financial Efficiency

Mazzetti successfully managed the design and installation of a 20 kW solar PV plant to provide [80%] of the energy for the clinic with careful planning and precision that will help offset the astronomical cost of electricity from the utility company. Mazzetti’s Sextant Foundation provided resources—fundraising, time, and people–to support. Before the installations of the Solar Panels, La Clinica was spending more money on energy bills than on critical medications for patients. Solar power provides reliable energy, resiliency to operate after a natural disaster, reduced operating costs, improved local air quality, carbon emissions reductions, and local skills to the community to operate the new systems.

About 10 months after installation, the system had produced 26.557 kWh, resulting in:

• Saving 20 tons of CO2
• Saving $4500

What can an extra $500 a month buy? Just to put financial savings in context, $500/mo. buys:

• A doctor´s monthly salary
• A child’s participation in the clinic´s annual summer camp for children with HIV
• A sex education program administered at three different high schools
• Lab tests for 10 patients with HIV
• The monthly cost of a nutritional program for 50 malnourished clients with HIV

Community Impact

The impact is real. The nutrition program, specifically for malnourished kids with HIV, has been extremely successful. The program provides them with home visits and education for the family, in addition to pediatric visits at the clinic and monthly food packets. Mina Halpern Lozada, Executive Director at the clinic, recalled one particular seven-year-old girl who has directly benefited from the program (her identity to remain anonymous for privacy purposes).

“In just less than a year, we’ve seen her weight improve substantially. She has a lot more energy, goes to school every day and is able to participate actively… And because she has a full stomach, it is easier for her to take her HIV medication; she has become much healthier overall.”

And not only is the clinic positively impacting the local community, it’s setting a standard for other clinics in the Dominican Republic to follow, to reap similar savings to inject back into the healthcare delivery.

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