Why build solar panels in Tanzania? It's where they keep all the sunlight.
A brief explanation of the solar project at Neema Crafts that I am working with:
We make 1/2W, 1W and 2W panels that sell for about US$8 to US$20 each. They can be used to charge cell phones, charge batteries for LED lights or directly power radios. The competing solar products on the market here start at US$400 for a 14W panel, battery, charge controller and 2 6W CFL lights, enough to light two rooms in a house. We do the same thing for US$40, but a little bit more inconveniently as you have to hook the lights up individually to charge them, and they probably are not as bright. They are bright enough to light up a small sitting room well enough to read and write by, certainly brighter than the kerosene wick lamp people use now.
Supposedly people in this area are spending about 1/3 of their monthly income on fuel and batteries for lights, about US$18/month. People need light because the sun goes down at 6:30pm every night and kids need to do homework while parents do cottage industry type work. Even a few extra hours of light can make a huge difference.
People use cell phones to check market prices, contact vendors and customers as well as communicate with family and friends. Many people without access to gird power have cellphones and need to charge them. Instead of spending all day traveling to the nearest power station and then paying to charge, they can buy our cell phone chargers that are powered by the 1W or 2W panel.
The solar glass is imported from Croatia at about US$3.75/watt and then wired and assembled into a frame by a team of disabled workers. The business model is potentially quite profitable and hence self-sustaining. We are working now to expand our sales network, adding shops in rural villages as well as commissioned sales people.
My role in the endever is as technical adviser, troubleshooting bugs, improving productivity and streamlining the manufacturing process as well as producing sales material. Similar projects have been started in Kenya, Benin and probably other areas of Africa. There are many larger solar companies, but their products are priced beyond the reach of rural farmers. The success of projects like ours will probably inspire those companies to enter into the micro-solar market, although they may have a hard time competing on price.
You can read more about the project here:
A brief explanation of the solar project at Neema Crafts that I am working with:
We make 1/2W, 1W and 2W panels that sell for about US$8 to US$20 each. They can be used to charge cell phones, charge batteries for LED lights or directly power radios. The competing solar products on the market here start at US$400 for a 14W panel, battery, charge controller and 2 6W CFL lights, enough to light two rooms in a house. We do the same thing for US$40, but a little bit more inconveniently as you have to hook the lights up individually to charge them, and they probably are not as bright. They are bright enough to light up a small sitting room well enough to read and write by, certainly brighter than the kerosene wick lamp people use now.
Supposedly people in this area are spending about 1/3 of their monthly income on fuel and batteries for lights, about US$18/month. People need light because the sun goes down at 6:30pm every night and kids need to do homework while parents do cottage industry type work. Even a few extra hours of light can make a huge difference.
People use cell phones to check market prices, contact vendors and customers as well as communicate with family and friends. Many people without access to gird power have cellphones and need to charge them. Instead of spending all day traveling to the nearest power station and then paying to charge, they can buy our cell phone chargers that are powered by the 1W or 2W panel.
The solar glass is imported from Croatia at about US$3.75/watt and then wired and assembled into a frame by a team of disabled workers. The business model is potentially quite profitable and hence self-sustaining. We are working now to expand our sales network, adding shops in rural villages as well as commissioned sales people.
My role in the endever is as technical adviser, troubleshooting bugs, improving productivity and streamlining the manufacturing process as well as producing sales material. Similar projects have been started in Kenya, Benin and probably other areas of Africa. There are many larger solar companies, but their products are priced beyond the reach of rural farmers. The success of projects like ours will probably inspire those companies to enter into the micro-solar market, although they may have a hard time competing on price.
You can read more about the project here:
http://solar-aid.org/neema-crafts-solar-project-update/
and here: http://solar-aid.org/diy-solar-in-tanzania/
Chris H.
2 comments:
I just read three articles about the proliferation of cell phone use in Africa. Two were about banking through cell phones (including remittances) and the other was about rural farmers using cell phones to get market prices. They didn't mention in the articles how the cell phones were powered. I was wondering, but now you've shed some light on the subject. Thanks.
chris is such a scientist.
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