LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Ni'ihau School will move into the electronic age next year, thanks to a $207,000 solar photovoltaic system that will power much-needed computers and refrigeration units.

The system is being installed as a cooperative effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state Department of Education, County of Kaua'i and Ni'ihau Ranch.

It will mean working computers and the curriculum benefits computers allow, lights when they're needed, and in the cafeteria, refrigerated food and cold milk.

The dusty Pu'uwai Village campus has three wood-frame classroom buildings in a rectangle enclosed by a rock wall, which is draped in night-blooming cereus. The wall keeps roaming cattle and other animals out of the enclosure. Also inside the stone barricade are Ni'ihau's church building and a cafeteria-meeting facility. Kiawe and tamarind trees shade parts of the area, which is otherwise exposed to the blazing leeward sun.

The big rectangle, which also encloses the community church, cafeteria and meeting hall, and the school playground, functions as a town square and community center. It's here that community meetings are held, and here that the island greets its infrequent guests.

All of Ni'ihau's 200 or so residents live in Pu'uwai, which lies just mauka of the coastal dunes, midway down the island's west-facing coast. Each of the scattered homes is protected by a rock wall similar to the one around the school and church.

The buildings are wired for electricity, but it's on only when someone fires up a generator. Pu'uwai has no communitywide power system. Some of the homes have their own solar power system, used to run lights and other electric utilities.

A generation ago, Ni'ihau School had a small solar photovoltaic system, which powered a few early computers, but the unforgiving salty environment of the coastal village has long since corroded both the solar panels and the computers, said Daniel Hamada, administrator of the department's Kaua'i Complex Area.

With the new solar power system, the Department of Education hopes to begin the 2007 school year next fall with computers in every classroom, and refrigeration and a freezer for the cafeteria, which now provides meals for students using only canned goods and nonrefrigerated products, Hamada said.

An array of 80 photovoltaic panels, each capable of producing 130 watts at full capacity, will be installed in a field just mauka of the school's three classroom buildings. The panels will feed 72 deep-cycle storage batteries and an array of control equipment, including inverters, charge controllers and battery monitors.

Glenn Sato, the county's energy coordinator, wrote the Community Facilities Economic Impact Initiative Grant for $150,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rural development office. The county Energy Extension Service put up $32,000 in matching funds and the Department of Education added $25,000. Ron's Electric in Lihu'e will install the system. Ni'ihau Ranch will ship the equipment to Ni'ihau, install concrete slabs and build sheds for the batteries and controls.

"For many years, Ni'ihau Ranch has desired to make the entire island of Ni'ihau self-sufficient in energy use. This project, which will supply 100 percent of the school's electric power from solar cells, is an important part of this goal," said ranch manager Bruce Robinson.

Hamada said the Department of Education's first priority will be to bring computers to the classrooms, but he said the other benefits of electricity are also important.

"The photovoltaic power system will enable Ni'ihau School to run a refrigerator and freezer and provide the students and staff with fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and fresh/frozen meats, fish and poultry," Hamada said.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.