Lewis was a third year BEng (Hons) Energy & Environmental Engineering student when he travelled to Peru.
Before Lewis began his studies at Edinburgh Napier he developed a relationship with The WindAid Institute, and NGO that delivers projects that provide clean, reliable, wind-generated electricity to developing communities. In 2016, Lewis travelled to Peru to complete the construction and installation of a 2.5kW turbine system at a primary school in the village of Nuevo Manzanilla. The village sits in the mountainous Cajamarca region, which has one of the lowest electrification rates in Peru due to its topography and scattered population.
Lewis developed a connection to the project and the people the turbine was serving. When he came back to Edinburgh to progress his engineering studies, he kept up the relationships and interests he developed in Peru. He was awarded a mobility grant to help him with the costs of purchasing spare parts and materials and travelling back to Peru. This time he went to carry out maintenance on the turbine he had previously installed.
In addition to carrying out maintenance on the turbine, Lewis also focused on the community and in particular the teachers at the school. He delivered training on the safety, battery care and the electrical system to teachers, enabling them to lead on more regular maintenance. While he was there he also laid some groundwork for the construction of a weather station and visited a potential new turbine installation site in the village of El Chorro.
The mobility grant has enabled Lewis to apply his studies, offer a service to a community and build global relationships. It is unlikely this will be his last trip to the Cajamarca region.