Mission: To provide rural farming

communities in the developing world

with access to clean water, electricity

through renewable energy, and

sustainable solutions.

Green Empowerment

Types of Support:

Technical

Financial

Operational

Organizational

IN-COUNTRY NGOs

Communities prioritize projects in consultation with NGO partner – targeted electrification to meet needs NGO partner requests assistance from Green Empowerment Each community forms committee to operate/maintain system/project… and collect monthly maintenance tariff from each household

OUR APPROACH

COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

PARTNER LOCATIONS

WATER DISTRIBUTION FROM THIS … TO THIS

SOLAR WATER PUMP

Submersible pump

160Wp PV

Main tank 10,000 gal

Tank #2

upper tank 1,500 gal

2.7kWp Solar

SOLAR WATER PUMP

El Bote is a 1300 acre community forest reserve upstream from a 950 kW microhydro system.

The preservation of this reserve includes Agroforestry Training and Ecosystem Restoration via shade-grown coffee, live fences, riverbank stabilization, riparian recovery from grazing, re-vegetation, natural fertilizers

There is a strong connection between water/energy and the ecosystems that provide it

WATERSHED CONSERVATION

NICARAGUA, PHILIPPINES, PERU: 10-50kW micro-hydro for villages

ELECTRICITY VIA RENEWABLE ENERGY

TECHNOLOGY IN SUMMARY

Each energy need can be met with a technology suited for:

◦ Energy need

◦ Local resources (wind, water, sun…)

◦ Culture

◦ Institutional factor

ALUMBRE: ENERGY USES

Vaccine refrigerator

Radio transmitter and cell phones, run by a small

business

School Computers

COST COMPARISONS OF TECHNOLOGY

Technology Cost/kWh Notes

Solar PV $1.50-$3.50 / kWh -Need sun -Batteries

Microhydro $0.10-$0.50 / kWh ($3000-$5000/kW)

-Need water source -24 hour energy

Small Wind $0.30-$0.80 / kWh -Need wind -Batteries

Diesel $0.3-$1.20 /kWh -Needs continual fuel source

-Noise and pollution

Biomass Not for electricity

COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT MODELS

Who will fund the project equipment,

installation, training, maintenance (users,

NGOs, government?)

What model is appropriate at different

scales, from a village or a thousand

villages?

What model is equitable and financially

sustainable?

What systems can increase with

population growth?

Even if there is a village-level

management, who will provide back up

technical, administrative and financial

support to multiple energy systems?

MANAGEMENT CONCLUSIONS 1. Energy should not be free --

ability/willingness to pay is underestimated

2. Electrons do not equal development (productive uses must be included to ensure sustainability/replicability)

3. Think globally -- national policies

4. Act locally – diversify energy systems to fit local needs -- distributed mini-grids

5. Technology is usually the “easy” part of the project

6. All human-made things need maintenance -- make sure there is a way to pay for it, or else the project will not last

7. Community organizing, feasibility studies, and pre-/post health assessments all help make the case for the project and establish long term need and benefit

www.greenempowerment.org

Facebook: Green Empowerment

Twitter: @grnempower

Instagram: @greenempowerment

140 SW Yamhill St., Portland, OR 97204

(503) 284-5774