31 May 2007

Renewable Energy Powers Local Economies in South America

Partnership for a Better Life

Green Empowerment, a non-profit organization, helps local Nicarguans assemble solar panels for community use. (Green Empowerment)

Washington --Today, 1.6 billion people still live without basic electricity, according to the United Nations. Without electricity to provide light and to process crops and power machinery, opportunities for economic development are limited.

Green Empowerment, a U.S.-based nonprofit group, partners with other groups and communities around the world to implement small-scale renewable, nonpolluting energy projects in remote areas far from national electric grids. Access to locally owned, nonpolluting energy systems help raise people's standards of living and boost local economies. It is fundamental to sustainable development.

One Green Empowerment project involving the local nongovernmental organization ATDER-BL is a 260-kilowatt micro-hydro plant in San José de Bocay, Nicaragua. The plant powers the community rice-hulling machine by converting the energy from the water of a nearby stream to electricity. The rice hulls are then burned in a locally made biomass rice dryer.

Instead of hauling rice to towns farther away, the communities' 220 farm families can now process and market their products locally, doubling their income.

In the Amazon region, Green Empowerment and Fundación Natura helped an indigenous community install solar power panels to charge battery-powered electric tools for woodworking, to power two-way radio communication and to benefit a clinic and community center. Using the energy, the community is making wood furniture, an alternative to selling trees to large timber companies to generate income.

In Peru, Green Empowerment and Soluciones Practicas (SP) have partnered to diversify their technologies to include community-based solar and wind projects.

In August 2007, SP will lead an intensive bilingual course on Renewable Energy for the Developing World in Cajamarca, Peru.

Working together, the public and private sectors are demonstrating that rural economic development and environmental conservation can be mutually reinforcing.

More information about these projects and the course in Peru is available on the Green Empowerment Web site.