European Tribune - Solar in Zanzibar

Solar in Zanzibar

by gmoke
Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 02:52:43 AM EST

I met Robert Lange at MIT at a lecture on international development. He's a Brandeis physics professor who has been working since November with Jongowe village on the island of Tumbatu about a mile from Unguja, one of the major islands of Zanzibar. There are no roads, electricity, cars, or bikes on Tumbatu but there are two villages. Jongowe is one of them and consists of 625 households with several thousand people.

Through the International Collaborative for Science, Education, and the Environment, Inc. (The ICSEE) and its Village Projects, Professor Lange is helping the village install more efficient stoves then certifying and selling the resulting carbon credits to buy small solar electric systems, a process already proven in Eritrea and Ghana.

These solar electric systems cost about $100.

Diary rescue by Migeru

In July we will be bringing 100 solar energy systems to the village. They have constructed over 120 new stoves and are finding fuel usage cut in half and are enjoying faster cooking times. For each stove they have built, they receive a credit of $25 toward the purchase of a solar energy electrical system and because of their work to produce new stoves, they have produced many credits that we will be presenting for sale to donors on the Village Projects International Website.

Household-scale solar energy electric systems consist of a solar panel, a charge regulator, two high efficiency lamps, a cell phone charger connection and two DC converters for a radio or other small appliances. With the addition of a motorcycle battery or even ten rechargeable AA batteries, a system provides electric power late into the night.

This project will cost about $15,000 to start and the ICSEE could use some help raising the money. 100 families and $15,000 sounds like a good investment, especially if that investment is what primes the pump for the rest of Jongowe, Tumbatu, and maybe even Zanzibar.

[I originally posted this on dailykos and it was suggested that I publish it here as well.]

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Solar in Zanzibar | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: Solar in Zanzibar (4.00 / 5)

What funding sources have ICSEE approached? $15,000 doesn't sound a lot compared to other projects. It sounds like a good investment--certainly if it has a proven track record, if benefits are being seen--or am I misunderstanding the world of finance-for-good-causes?

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Wed Jun 4th, 2008 at 08:10:27 PM EST

Re: Solar in Zanzibar (4.00 / 2)

If you are interested, I'm sure that Robert Lange will reply. This seems to be pretty much a one person operation and he is leaving for Zanzibar in July. He can use any help he can get.

Solar IS Civil Defense

by gmoke on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 at 03:44:05 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Solar in Zanzibar (4.00 / 2)

I'm interested in his project. I don't have $15,000 to offer him, but his project sounds perfect for gaining a grant--even getting the manufacturers (? I think there are manufacturers for the stoves) to offer some payment system so the stoves go in--good publicity for the project...

But I don't know about these things, so I'm just guessing.

Another track is the micro-finance initiatives--here's the first link I found:

http://www.poverty-action.org/ourwork/microfinanceinitiative.php

...but $15,000--it would seem a natural research project to me, with a low overhead and lots of data coming out to analyse. I don't know which universities or which depts. Maybe a mix of anthropology, economics, engineering, materials science...

But hey, he's a prof at MIT! Maybe he can't get hold of the funds--I suppose not if he hasn't got hold of them, but the finance-for-research project route would be the first I'd try if I had contacts. The other route would be to get onto the established websites where those needing small loans can get into contact with those who are willing to offer small amounts.

Here's another link--maybe you've seen these all before! If so, sorry!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grameen_Bank

A final thought is that a bank might be willing to sponsor the deal--good publicity for them, they may be happy to put the money up front ($15,000 = not a lot for a bank), with payment to come as and when (the publicity would be worth more than $15,000.)

Those are my guesses!

Certainly if you wish to raise the $15,000 by small individual donations, there are websites designed to bring donor and receiver together.

http://www.kiva.org/app.php

July is only a few weeks away, though.

Not sure I'm helping, gmoke, but good luck to Robert with his project!

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 at 04:01:41 PM EST
[ Parent ]

He was talking at MIT ... he's a prof at Brandeis. (none / 0)

Come to think of it, what lays behind your reaction ...

But hey, he's a prof at MIT!

... might be why he was talking at MIT.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jun 6th, 2008 at 10:01:03 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Brandeis to MIT (none / 1)

We met at a talk by Paul Polak at MIT. That is the MIT connection between me and this (semi)retired professor from Brandeis.

Solar IS Civil Defense

by gmoke on Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 09:27:56 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Solar in Zanzibar (none / 1)

This is the dream of what the 'Clean Development Mechanism' could do. Realise cheaper reductions and give poor countries the tools to leapfrog the west.

The project is great. There is no downside.

The problem is, the vast majority of what these credits from the 'Clean Development Mechanism' are used for is rather questionable development in China.

by nanne (zwaerdenmaecker@gmail.com) on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 at 12:32:59 PM EST

Huh? (4.00 / 2)

nanne:

The project is great. There is no downside.
The problem is, the vast majority of what these credits from the 'Clean Development Mechanism' are used for is rather questionable development in China.

So there is no problem yet there is? I don't understand your last sentence, specifically the credits. Could you elaborate?

Also, from a first glance, I'd say this project provides the tools to leapfrog into new technology, but not the knowledge. I've been tearing my hair out for over a year why solar developments are still in their infancy in African countries. There was a CIGS patent developed in SA, the pilot in production is in Germany here), market launch scheduled for this year. From their website I read a new plant opens in China, but not Africa. Is this the sort of development you mean? :/

by Nomad on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 at 09:27:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Huh? (4.00 / 4)

Should have been more clear. What I'm referring to is this:

European Tribune - Solar in Zanzibar

Professor Lange is helping the village install more efficient stoves then certifying and selling the resulting carbon credits to buy small solar electric systems, a process already proven in Eritrea and Ghana.

Certified emissions reductions (CER) can be acquired by countries that have taken on emission limits under the Kyoto protocol. The mechanism through which that works is called CDM.

This picture on wiki shows where the money is going so far:

There are big issues with the actual added reductions in countries like China, India and Brazil (and South Korea really should not be on there anymore).

Climex News Update

One in five carbon credits issued by the United Nations are going to support clean energy projects that may in fact have helped to increase greenhouse gas emissions, environmental group WWF said on Thursday. The United Nations runs a scheme under the Kyoto Protocol that allows rich nations to invest in clean energy projects in developing countries and in return receive certified emissions reduction credits (CERs) to offset their own emissions.But WWF said in a report that the credits are being delivered to projects that would have gone ahead anyway, even without the extra incentive provided by UN approval under the scheme, called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
The report, prepared by Germany's Oeko Institute for Applied Ecology, said projects lacking this so-called 'additionality' help increase gases blamed for global warming by giving firms a spurious justification for continuing to pollute.

So what I'm talking about are more efficiency improvements on big industrial plants / power stations that would be made anyway, and deliberately inefficient initial construction of such to rake up credits.

Knowledge is important, certainly. What is important for the current exports of solar is for the people abroad to be able to service them and receive appropriate blueprints to be able to do so.

Your example of Africa developing its own solar technologies but not implementing them is a bit sorry. Can't say much more than that there is a big difference between developing technologies and putting them to good use.

by nanne (zwaerdenmaecker@gmail.com) on Thu Jun 5th, 2008 at 09:55:34 PM EST
[ Parent ]

I don't understand the last part of this ... (4.00 / 4)

Your example of Africa developing its own solar technologies but not implementing them is a bit sorry.

First, its a high tech industrial process developed in South Africa, not an appropriate technology developed in, say, the DRC.

There's nothing "sorry" about having them manufactured in China and having license income flowing to South Africa.

And indeed in general, for most of sub-Saharan Africa who would be importing them from abroad whether they were manufactured at the lowest possible cost in China or manufactured at a substantially higher cost in South Africa ... exporting commodities to buy solar PV produced at the lowest possible cost and using them to harvest more of Africa's renewable resources is a much better deal than the normal process of exporting commodities to buy food, suppressing domestic production, and fuel and Mercedes Benz's for the domestic elite.

Utsukushikereba sore de ii

by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Fri Jun 6th, 2008 at 10:09:20 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Solar in Zanzibar (4.00 / 2)

As it happens, I run a nonprofit that has Robert Lange on its advisory board:

www.growththroughlearning.org

His work through ICSEE is enormously deserving of support.

by calibrit (marthews at hotmail.com) on Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 08:16:38 AM EST

Are you in contact with Lange? (none / 1)

If so, can you report on his fund-raising progress and on a mechanism to donate?

As pointed out by rg and others, there exist grant and support programs for such efforts.

Might be good to contact wratterman@SunEnergyPower.com
as his group has been doing small projects in remote areas for a few years, at least.

How about mentioning Chris Cook's work to Lange? These kinds of credits may have a good fit with his program.

paul spencer

by paul spencer (spencerinthegorge AT yahoo DOT com) on Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 02:26:20 PM EST

Lange Contact (4.00 / 2)

ICSEE is where you can donate money to the project and contact Lange directly. When last I spoke to him, he was preparing for the trip and had all 100 collectors. I sent him a donation last week and an email the other day, forwarding one of the comments here.

By the way, the contact information was included as a link in the diary. I try to be diligent about those things.

Solar IS Civil Defense

by gmoke on Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 08:02:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

You did, indeed. Sorry. (4.00 / 2)

I was referring to direct contact with Lange, due to the particular suggestions that I was making. The organization contact will work for me, though, I am sure.

I like your blog, too.

paul spencer

by paul spencer (spencerinthegorge AT yahoo DOT com) on Mon Jun 30th, 2008 at 09:17:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Solar in Zanzibar | 13 comments (13 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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