FACE OF ENERGY POVERTY
AND WHY WOMEN ENGINEERS ARE CRITICAL TO ERADICATING IT
Nirupama Prakash Kumar
Sr. Operations Engineer, WindLogics
Oct-24-2014
WHAT DOES DARKNESS FEEL LIKE?
http://vimeo.com/99902423
Great place for videos on Energy Poverty
http://en-act.org/
ENGINEERING (NOUN)
THE APPLICATION OF SCIENCE FOR THE OPTIMUM CONVERSION OF NATURAL
RESOURCES FOR THE BENEFIT OF HUMANITY
WHO HAS THE PEOPLE?
WHO HAS THE POWER
WORLD ELECTRIFICATION STATS
• 1.2 Billion people in the world today have no access to electricity
• 550 Million of sub-Saharan Africa, excluding South Africa,
households have no access to network electricity.
• 700 Million people of South Asia places like India, Pakistan and
Bangladesh, of the overall population and 90% of the rural
population are not on the grid.
• 1.4 Billion people will still lack access to electricity in 2030 -
International Energy Agency
GLOBAL CHALLENGES TO FIGHT
UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS
ELECTRICITY/ENERGY HELPING FIGHT GLOBAL CHALLENGES
• Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty –
• World Bank study in Nepal found that the income in communities with micro-hydro
micro grids increased by 11% compared to communities without
• The same report found that users consume 54% less kerosene than non micro-
hydro consumers
• A UNDP study found that among 1503 households in 10 districts in Nepal that were
served using 20 microgrids, there was an increase in household income of 52%
from 1996 to 2005
• Achieve universal primary education –
• Children like to study at certain times of the day and mostly when it is cool or
when not distracted about playing outside
• Children are also safe when not next to fire hazards while studying
• Promote Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women –
• Women and child safety dramatically improves with lighting at night time
• Electricity can promote industries and jobs for women, and of course education
ELECTRICITY/ENERGY HELPING FIGHT GLOBAL CHALLENGES
• Reduce child mortality – • The UNDP study mentioned in the previous slide found significant reductions in the
mortality rate of children under five (from 9.4% to 5.3%) attributed to reduced indoor
smoke as a result of electricity displacing kerosene
• Improve maternity health – • The same UNDP study saw the decrease of maternal mortality rates from 5.3% to
4.3%
• Folks like Dr. Laura Stachel who realized how electricity would be essential to help
deliver babies safely
• Email sent from Swaziland by Paul Lintott
“A touching moment yesterday as I reviewed an installation. Quote and
translated from iSizulu "I can now feed my baby at night without
paraffin smoke", that makes the development work worthwhile for me.”
ELECTRICITY/ENERGY HELPING FIGHT GLOBAL CHALLENGES
• Combat HIV / AIDS, malaria and other diseases –
• Ebola Medication needs to be kept cold to retain potency, electricity can be
tricky in several rural places in west Africa
• Many other medication and medical facilities needs electricity to operate well
• Ensure environmental sustainability –
• Better energy sources, better environmental sustainability
• Global Partnership for Development –
• UNSEA4ALL, E4C, IEEE CSI, other partnerships
COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS INITIATIVE (CSI)
• Is a signature program of the IEEE Foundation
• CSI is committed to the open-source design and
delivery of energy solutions
• To the world’s poorest and most energy-deprived
populations
CSI Solutions - Community Entrepreneur Based Electricity Generation in Rural Haiti
WHY WOMEN ENGINEERS?
• We believe our professions must impact society
• We can easily empathize with the most vulnerable
populations in many societies – its women, children
and old
• We can to be the technical minds behind translating
the problems into solutions that address the right
problems for women and children
HOW DO THESE CONNECT TO ENERGY POVERTY?
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/health/2013/02/28/cnnheroes-stachel.cnn.html
REFERENCES
Microgrids for Rural Electrification:
A critical review of best practices based on seven case studies
Authors:
Daniel Schnitzer, Deepa Shinde Lounsbury, Juan Pablo Carvallo, Ranjit Deshmukh, Jay Apt, and Daniel M. Kammen