Helped by sunshine
On March 19, Young Post junior reporter Janet Tam visited Town Island in southeast Sai Kung. She was there to report on China Light and Power's Operation Dawn Orienteering Game 2011 and a renewable energy power station. Here Janet recounts her action-packed day:
I caught a ferry arranged by CLP at Sai Kung Pier to Town Island on a rainy Saturday morning.
On the remote island, I listened to the sound of waves and the rustle of leaves as the wind blew. It felt refreshing to breathe clean air. It was peaceful there - or was it?
The island soon became a battle ground for the orienteering game.
Participants had come together to raise funds to rebuild the drug rehabilitation centre called Operation Dawn on the island. They were from local universities and secondary schools. They raced against the clock around Town Island to reach all checkpoints in time. Not even the stormy weather with strong winds and downpours could dampen competitors' enthusiasm.
We then visited the local renewable energy power station, which supplies electricity to the rehab centre. It is the first stand-alone solar energy system in Hong Kong. This means the power station is not connected to any outside electricity network. Its hundred solar panels, which were installed last year, can generate 20 kilowatt of electricity - enough to power 20 one-horsepower air conditioners.
On sunny days the system generates electricity, which it also stores in batteries for cloudy days like the one when I was there.
My last stop was the rehab centre itself. Chung Tat-wing (pictured below), a resident at Operation Dawn, told us of his struggle to overcome his addiction to drugs. Chung had been in and out of the centre four times before he finally managed to set his mind to defeating his addiction.
He told us that inmates' life had improved after the centre received its new solar panel system with its batteries last year. Previously, they could not even use fans at night. Now they can.
Chung came first in CLP Power's elementary electrics class. He became skilled at fixing cables and doing small electronics projects.
Chung hopes to further his studies so he can contribute to the centre in future.