Peru's poorest will soon have solar power

Peru's poorest will soon have solar power

grist.org

The first phase of the program, called “The National Photovoltaic Household Electrification Program” was initiated on Monday (July 8) in the Contumaza province, where 1,601 solar panels were installed. These installations will power 126 impoverished communities in the districts of Cupisnique, San Benito, Tantarica, Chilete, Yonan, San Luis, and Contai.

(visit the link for the full news article)

It's nice to see some altruism taking place in the world.
Free electricity for the poor!

I'd love to see this take off as a trend in other places around the globe. Pick the poorest places around the world and turn them into free electricity havens.
It'd be better to see free housing and food as well, but, electricity is a start.


grist.org
(visit the link for the full news article)

Somebody posts some good news!!

Nice one Druscilla.

There'll be some happy lamas getting their hides shorn with electric clippers. And pan pipes may enter the realm of prog rock. Sweet.

Great idea. Now we need to set them up with some NON gmo crops.

I wouldn't consider this an act of altruism, they still have to pay for their solar panels. Let me dig up exactly how this works for these people to clarify this issue.



“In developed countries to acquire these devices it would cost you $250 to $300,” Tanoh said.

“It is a subsidised product. The way it works is that the customers pay a small deposits about $25 dollars, they get the equipments and then they pay the rest through a daily fee,” Tanoh added.

- www.itwebafrica.com...



It may take years for these people to pay off their solar devices, also while bringing power to everybody sounds nice you bring along a slew of problems related to being exposed to devices that emit energy.

It does indeed beat out the alternative of paying 3 USD per kwh using kerosene.

I don't get why folks living in sunny climes not just switch to solar I mean Hawaii is leading the way on this with solar tax credit I read somewhere that the program was too successful and as a result they have an over abundance of energy that the system can't handle,I don't know how windy is Peru I am guessing windy it's an Andean country after all, combining wind and solar seems win win to me.

Big oil [OPEC, etc.] are still some of the most powerful controllers of the world's economies. If the whole world was
to go to alternative energy such as solar and wind, overnight big oil would lose maybe 50-75% of their revenues - do you think they are going to let this happen? NO they will stop progress for profits - this is the way of the world. A few
peasants in Peru have cheap power doesn't bother them but come up with big solar generating plants [there are a few now] and they will pull the strings to kill the projects - they just killed one in California that was scheduled to
be built. Look what they did to the famous scientist Nikolai Tesla way back in the 1800s when he suggested free
electricity could be transmitted through the ground - he was a genius of an inventor who invented the AC electric
motor and way of transmitting electricity and guess what? -- he died poor!

Doesn't sound too poor to me. I live in a rich country, America where we but the most expensive electric

A friend and I were discussing solar power recently and he linked me some pages deomonstrating that with current technology, solar power is actually a negative economy.

That is, currently, it takes more power to grow the crystals, and build the panel, than it will ever generate in its average working life. While admittedly the technology is improving, at present, it is still a negative economy.

Take this as you will,because I didn't bookmark the pages he linked me to, I never expected to need them again.

Granted it's nice to see the underprivileged receiving electrical power however you cannot eat or drink the stuff. Free food and clean water seem like a better idea in my opinion.

reply to post by Druscilla
This is great news and long overdue.

Imagine if something like this was proposed in the U.S.

The Republicans would filibuster it and kill it in no time!

Well, I love the idea and general thought behind it but what makes this different than a hundred similar efforts that have come across Africa for power and potable water? People come, take pity on the 'poor uneducated savages', set them up with technology and then wish them well after a short training session.

The first time the crap breaks is usually the last time the village ever sees it in working order again. So... are the residents on the hook for the long term maintenance and upkeep of the system? Replacement of broken panels and wear/tear of components over time? (Peru is hardly a friendly climate for such things).

I can see the theory of a much improved situation ...and I can see a do gooder idea making some activists feel really special and happy ..while doing more to hurt the locals than ever help anyone ..but too full of themselves to ever heard a word of it. I wonder which category this fits into for the long term? Help or Curse?

Originally posted by AlienView
Big oil [OPEC, etc.] are still some of the most powerful controllers of the world's economies. If the whole world was
to go to alternative energy such as solar and wind, overnight big oil would lose maybe 50-75% of their revenues - do you think they are going to let this happen? NO they will stop progress for profits - this is the way of the world. A few
peasants in Peru have cheap power doesn't bother them but come up with big solar generating plants [there are a few now] and they will pull the strings to kill the projects - they just killed one in California that was scheduled to
be built. Look what they did to the famous scientist Nikolai Tesla way back in the 1800s when he suggested free
electricity could be transmitted through the ground - he was a genius of an inventor who invented the AC electric
motor and way of transmitting electricity and guess what? -- he died poor!

Do you guys just make this stuff up or do you actually believe it?

Middle Eastern members of OPEC are finally diversifying their energy base, pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into harnessing that other resource they feature in vast quantities: sunshine.

The Saudis, Abu Dhabi and Iran aren't racing to burnish their green credentials by reducing their carbon footprints. They are investing in solar-power production mainly for one reason: to help them export even more oil and gas.

online.wsj.com...

3 names

Nikola Tesla
WardenClyffe
JP Morgan

nobody rides for free

reply to post by Druscilla


HI, I believe one of our own ATS members may be part of this program. I know he has been working on this project for several years and last time we spoke he was in China (the only place to get the parts at a reasonable price) and was very excited about the prospects. He was not into it for the $$$ and that alone was huge. .

The Southern half of the USA should be installing solar panels on their rooves. The Northern half of the USA should utilize windmills... especially people in tornado alley and the jet stream areas. Windmills should be installed out in the ocean on both the West and East Coasts of the USA. Windmills a few miles out in the ocean won't effect the bird populations. Windmills in the mountains would be a good spot too, just not in the Nation Park areas.

Ireland and France are using these super sized wind farms on top of mountain ridges and along their highways.
Those countries are years ahead of America in Green technology usage. You have to put your plastic hotel key in the wall switch to get electricity in your hotel room. When you leave, and pull out the key, it automatically turns off all the rooms lights. Brilliant! The hotels also have a battery drop can for recycling peoples used batteries.

There are recycling stations at most gas stations in Ireland and they collect clothing there for charity at the gas stations! I should have taken a nice photo of this when I was there in 2009! The Europeans are also better at using reusable shopping bags for their shopping, it costs extra money to buy a plastic bag. This is so smart, they have less trash on the roadsides. They are just more creative in using green ideas! We can change, and everyone can contribute to new ideas.

Originally posted by BMorris
A friend and I were discussing solar power recently and he linked me some pages deomonstrating that with current technology, solar power is actually a negative economy.

That is, currently, it takes more power to grow the crystals, and build the panel, than it will ever generate in its average working life. While admittedly the technology is improving, at present, it is still a negative economy.

Take this as you will,because I didn't bookmark the pages he linked me to, I never expected to need them again.

Wow! didn't know this. find this those links as I would like to see them.

reply to post by antar


That's wonderful news. It'd be nice were they to pop on and have a bit of a say on the project where they might.

reply to post by frugal


Coastal areas, East, West, and Gulf States could leverage their access to the ocean in using tidal and wave action electrical generators as well as coastal wind farming to take advantage of the predictable ocean breezes coming off the long flat expanses of water.

Iceland, if I recall correctly even does geothermal electrical generation in exploiting their wealth of access to volcanic activity.
Such could very well be done in the Hawaiian islands, the Yellowstone area as well as other hot springs locations, plus all along the Pacific Northwest up into Alaska in taking advantage of their position along the Ring of Fire.

Imagine too, were we to dam the Mississippi River in a series of hydroelectric producing stages. A system of locks could be managed for ship and barge traffic similar the Panama Canal all the while generating electricity.
The entire river could be more easily managed against flood disasters as well.

We've ample natural, sustainable resources available to supply abundant electricity without the need for coal, oil, natural gases and other diminishing fuels.

This is awesome, I really hope that more countries take initiatives like this to help their poor receive power.


Now as for CORE countries I doubt it. Taking money away from big boy electric companies who have the $$$ to bribe politicians to ax projects like this before they even begin is the norm. I live up in the mountains where it's sunny and windy almost all the time, yet so few houses have solar panels and even fewer have small wind turbines meant for home use.


Boulder County is actually in the process of getting Xcel Power out ( A first in the U.S. ?) and start their own power municipality. They wanted Xcel to provide more wind power to the country by now, which they have failed to do. West of the city on Rt 93 there are about 10 windmills and at any given time only one or two of them are unlocked and spinning away, while the rest just sit there idle. Xcel won't even let the ones they have already built be put to use because it is cutting into their $$$$. Sick and sad, but they just dug their own graves and are about to lose out.

Hopefully more cities/counties will take Boulder's lead and do the same. There is no need to be caught in a stranglehold.